


Dark Doo Wop

by morganrules



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: AU, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Blowjobs, Creampie, Drama, Drug Use, Hurt/Comfort, I swear that there’s a happy ending, Love, M/M, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Past Child Abuse, Past Non-Con, Photographer!Rick, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Prostitution, Sex Work, Sex Worker Daryl, TW: Self Harm, bottom!daryl, exhibicionism, filming kink, prostitute!Daryl, slow building, top!rick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-20
Updated: 2015-07-05
Packaged: 2018-03-25 01:08:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 47,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3790957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morganrules/pseuds/morganrules
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[AU] The boys, the girls, they all like Daryl, he gives them butterflies, bats his cartoon eyes, buy him tonight, he's still shining, like lightning, oh, white lightning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's alarming honestly how charming he can be

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: Self harm and past child abuse mentions.
> 
> Hi, this is my first rickyl ever :) I'm nervous because I'm super trashy, but this story had been dancing in my mind for months lol
> 
> psa: do not take Daryl's example as the standart for sex workers. Remember that just like in the show, here, Daryl is a southern rural man who also happens to be poor ( a redneck , as he calls himself) who doesn't have studies and joined the lifestyle because he had no other options back in the days.
> 
> Not all sex workers are like him irl, but I think it's important to clarify that he is what he is because of the circumstances of his life. Title of this fic came from the song which has the same name, 'Dark Doo Wop' from MSMR and the summary is an adaptation of Lana Del Rey's song 'Carmen'.
> 
> Here's a video inspired by this work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJxDXwAjNCc

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [AU] The boys, the girls, they all like Daryl, he gives them butterflies, bats his cartoon eyes, buy him tonight, he's still shining, like lightning, oh, white lightning.  
> Notes:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Self harm and past child abuse mentions.
> 
> Hi, this is my first rickyl ever :) I'm nervous because I'm super trashy, but this story had been dancing in my mind for months lol Hope you guys liked it! This fic is not bet'd and english is not my mother language, so apologies in advance!
> 
> Title of this fic came from the song which has the same name, 'Dark Doo Wop' from MSMR and the summary is an adaptation of Lana Del Rey's song 'Carmen'.

Rick flicked his gaze over to the phone right next to him, his thoughts recollecting everything important that he needed to know before he could keep going with his plan. It always ended up like this, into a repetitive loop until he finally took any action.

He wasn’t ashamed of what he was about to do, wasn’t bothered about the thing he was doing; Rick was human after all, and he was lonely, by god, he felt so lonely. He didn’t feel this way for a long time; it was like an alien feeling that he couldn’t get rid of. In the end, deciding to go on, Rick licked his lips, cracking his knuckles before finally grabbing the phone in his hands. It wasn’t the first time he did it; wasn’t going to be the last time either.

It was almost midnight when he finally gathered courage to dial the number. The small business card in his hands was very simple, minimalist even. He’d found it glued to the window of a payphone at his neighborhood, with the sayings ‘Daniel - Escort Services. Male, tall, brunette, very discreet. Let's break some rules, that's what they're here for.’

After a few minutes, a raspy voice answered the other line, sounding like they had been in a rush.

“Hi, Daniel speaking.”- The accent made clear that the voice at the other line was from someone from a small town.

“Hey Daniel, I’m Rick. I was wondering how's your schedule today?’ - Rick asked in a calm tone, if anything, he didn’t want to give the escort a bad impression.

“Well, m’ free right now if ya want me.” - The escort replied low, as if he was trying to hide what he was talking about.

“Oh?”- Rick sounded surprised but glad at the same time. -“That’s great, Daniel. What are your prices?”

“$30 for a suck, $40 for a quickie and R$ 50 for a fuck. I ain’t doing no bizarre sir, but for R$ 60 I can play sub and for $ 100, I can do golden shower. “

Rick remained quiet for a while. Those prices sounded far too cheap and he would know it, for he already hired escorts before. Never in his life he'd heard about such a small price for a male sex worker, but he decided to play along anyways.

“Hmm, okay. How about filming? Are you okay with that?” - He asked, licking his own licks tentatively, yet sounding a little more relaxed than before.

“Yeah, yeah. Ain’t nobody out there for me no more, sir, no need to be ashamed.” - the voice in the phone reassured. 

“How much though? You need to understand that I’m talking ‘bout filming the whole thing. “- The client tried once more. He had to make sure that the escort was okay with his desires.

“I can do that, Rick, yeah. $200.”- The escort rated high because he had nothing else to lose. “But I have a few rules of my own.”

“Of course, which ones? I’ll make sure to respect any of your limits.”- Rick reassured him in a soft tone.

The escort swallowed hard before he kept going. It was the first time in years that a client actually cared about his limits and maybe that was a good sign, but he didn’t want to read much into it.

“ s’ I said, I do no bizarre, no bloodplay shit nor painplay shit. I ain’t calling ya daddy neither I will engage with daddy/little boy dynamics. Ya only get ta fuck me with a condom on, no creampie allowed and ya won’t be hitting me either.”

“No spanking?”- Rick inquired expectantly, just in case.

“Nah, it ain’t my business. Hard limit.” - Daryl finished feeling like that was the most he’d ever talked with anyone in his entire life.

“Fair. Where can I meet you then?”- Rick was starting to get excited for his night. Just when he thought he would fuck everything up because of the filming thing, everything turned out just fine, so he supposed the night would be good.

“Meet me down the alley next ta that pub called Brick Store. Will be waiting for ya in the corner. Quite tall, medium brown hair and I’m wearing a leather jacket with wings in the back.” - Daryl decided that he’d had enough chatting for the night, already hanging up without even waiting for a reply.

It wasn’t like he didn’t like the guy already, but most of the time he felt really uncomfortable with conversations, especially long ones.

Usually clients that booked him were nothing but pretty quick; they would just want to know where to meet him and throw him in the next dirty alley before fucking him senseless. Most of them wouldn’t even want to know if he was all right afterwards. They would just throw him the money and leave.

But maybe that Rick guy was going to be different; Daryl thought as he walked in the streets with a cigarette in his mouth, hands comfortably rested inside the pockets of his jacket. In a matter of time he found himself in his usual spot, which remained quite dark, but not too dark because it received some light from the street lamps. After finishing his first cigarette he decided to leave the another one for later because he didn’t want to smell bad for the client.

Quickly, he threw the little piece on the floor, stepping on it with his leather boots and fixing his jacket right after. He then grabbed a mint bubblegum and started chewing it in order to make his breath feel nicer.

It was a matter of time until a black Audi stopped near the alley, just a few minutes later and once the car was safely parked, a very handsome man got out, walking slowly as he combed his hair to the back. He dressed as casually as possible, with plain jeans and a simple black t-shirt. His grey beard was carefully trimmed, making him look like someone in his 30’s.

For a brief minute Daryl thought that he was the luckiest man alive because his client was absolutely gorgeous; with a nicely trimmed beard and adorable curly hair. Was it a trick from God? Because if it was, Daryl would be pretty disappointed.

“Daniel?” - The man asked hesitantly, but after a nod, a small smile was drawn upon his lips- “Nice to meet you, Daniel. I’m Rick.” - He offered his hands for a handshake.

“Nice ta meet ya too, Rick.”- Daryl paused briefly, losing his attention for a moment after seeing the beautiful pair of blues staring back at him.

“So, can we go to my car?”- Rick suggested with a soft smile, already opening the door of his audi for the other man. 

“Yeah, sure.” - Daryl replied, fixing his jacket once more before entering the car. He looked from side to side first to see if the area was clear and just then, when he knew they were safe, he finally sat in the backseat, waiting for further instructions.

The car was way too clean inside and smelt pretty nicely. Rick tuned in the radio, definitely in the mood for some classic rock on that night. As he drove them forward, Rick opted to drive slowly, talking about his day at work as Daryl laid himself in the backseat, spreading some gel sanitizer in his hands, only humming in agreement to the client’s stories. Daryl then carefully lowered his own jeans, gently spreading his legs. He felt like laughing because back in the days he would fell very ashamed of doing anything like that on public. 

“Do ya mind if I prep myself first?”- Daryl asked loudly. At least the music playing in the background helped him to get into the mood.

“Nah, go ahead. Make yourself home.”-Rick replied with a smile.

Daryl reached for his pocket, catching a small package of baby wipes, grabbing one to clean his own thighs, his cock and the entry of his ass. He then left the wipes on the floor, while reaching for a small lube that was resting on the other pocket of his jacket. As soon as he had the small flask in hands, he wetted one finger, gently introducing it in, fingering himself for a while.

He knew that his clients enjoyed when he pulled a show while making himself wet, so at the same time he fingered his hole, he softly caught his cock in his left hand, stroking it fast, just teasing it until he was hard enough.

“You ready?”- The driver asked a little anxious, after all he had to set everything up before they actually got down to business.

“All ready for my Mr. friendly.”- Daryl replied, feeling a somewhat bitter taste in the tip of his tongue. He just hoped his client was nicer than the latest ones. 

“Great!”- Rick replied with a smile, lust all written into his voice.

With a small smirk, Rick stopped the car exactly at the same spot they began their meeting, changing his camera settings before opening the door. Daryl had already dressed his jeans again before joining his client outside of the car and into the dark alley.

Rick had his camera in hands while Daryl had his back rested against the brick wall behind them. The escort was clueless about what was going to happen, but he preferred to not think about it for a while; sometimes it helped him to get in the mood.

“Hey Daniel.” - Rick greeted, pointing the camera right at Daryl’s face.

Daryl avoided looking up because he was a very shy person. He didn’t mind people filming him, but he had to gather courage to look up first. He had a small smile upon his lips though, which made the client think that he was okay with the whole thing.

“Watcha wan’ from me, Rick? ‘m all yours.”- Daryl replied, a little more confident as he looked straight into the camera.

“Well Daniel, I think I want the whole service then. Can you say hi to the camera?” - Rick quickly changed the subject, too busy into thinking about how he wanted the scene to go.

“Hi.”- Daryl blushed, shyly lifting his head to wave a small greet, cursing himself for being so soft. Dixons didn’t blush, but he just couldn’t help it.

As he smiled quite openly, Rick couldn’t pretend that he haven't noticed that one the man's teeth was missing at the upper dental arc and the client didn’t know why, but it definitely turned him on. When Rick started to ask him way too many questions, Daryl had grown quite impatient. He did enjoy talking with the man who’d bought him for the night, but he had no time to lose.

“We here ta talk or ta fuck?”- Daryl didn’t want to sound rude to the client, however, time was money and he was hoping  that Rick guy would make it rain soon enough.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. Got a little carried away.”- Rick replied as he felt his cheeks burning, even though he wasn’t the type of person who blushed on daily basis.

He quickly set the camera in the backseat and returned to the same spot, already taking his belt off. Rick slowly approached Daryl with nothing but pure lust and desire in his eyes, he couldn’t wait to feel the man beneath his hands. The first thing he did was undress Daryl from his pants, gently kneeling in front of him , glad that the escort wasn’t wearing any underwear. He then pressed two small kisses upon Daryl’s soft thighs before wasting no time and catching Daryl’s cock inside his mouth.

Rick never stopped looking into Daryl’s beautiful dark blue eyes that now had a few hues of light gold and violet, as he sucked him off. For a john, he was pretty good with his mouth, but Daryl made his best to seem as casual as ever, pretending that he wasn’t freaking out.

It felt really good as Rick’s beard sometimes would rasp against his groin. Eventually, the photographer finally closed his eyes, being pretty methodical, slurping and blowing just with the right amount of pressure, sometimes reaching up so he could massage Daryl’s slightly swollen belly, sometimes taking the whole erection inside his warm mouth.

He didn’t want the escort to come this early though, so soon enough he released the cock from his mouth, taking time to catch some breath. Once recovered, he got up again, standing face to face with the man, while Daryl avoided looking him in the eyes for too long. Rick wasted no time, opening his jeans some more, taking his cock of before grabbing a small lube in his pocket as well as a small package of condom; extra thin. Daryl noticed.

“Can you make me hard?”- It was more a question than an order, but Rick didn’t mind. He just wanted the man to be confortable.

Daryl didn’t reply right away, but with a small nod, he grabbed his client’s cock between his hands, stroking him slowly, never stopping to look into the man's eyes. While caressing Rick, the escort mumbled something like ‘no kissing’ and ‘the jacket stays on’.

“All right?”- Daryl asked again, just to make sure. Not all of his clients agreed with his terms.

“Fair.”- Rick reassured, with closed eyes as Daryl caressed his chest over the shirt, dressing the condom on his cock.

Once both of them were ready enough, Rick lifted the escort in his arms, supporting his back on the wall, gently opening his thighs. Again, Rick was pretty straight forward about his methods, wetting two fingers with lube, before fingering him for a while.

It didn’t take long for the escort be moist enough, especially because he’d had prepared himself before; Rick just wanted him a little more wet so he could slide in easier.

He then grabs his cock in his right hand, safely carrying Daryl into his left arm, as he teased the little entry with the head of his cock before thrusting in. Rick grunted, because Daryl was still tight and warm and it’s been a while for him now. The thrusting started slowly, with Rick going up and down in a sensual rhythm as Daryl threw his arms over his client's shoulder so he could have some more balance, hiding his face on the crook of his Rick's shoulder blade.

“C-can I kiss your neck?” - Rick huffed, voice all sweet in a soft whisper.

“Yah…”-Daryl replied, never leaving Rick’s shoulders for a chance. He did throw his head back; in order to show his neck for is john.

Rick pressed gentle kisses on Daryl’s neck, whispering things that even made an experienced escort blush. “You’re so tight…”- He whispered, pressing a long kiss upon Daryl’s shoulder. None of the last escorts he met before were this tight.

“Hm… Ah…Ah…”- Daryl moaned after a particular hard thrust, little whimpers falling from his lips as if he was trying to contain himself.

He haven’t had such a good dick for a while now and none ever felt this good. Maybe it was because Rick was gentle or maybe it was because he was prettier than the last clients he had, but Daryl was not shallow, he’d had a few great times with clients too, but none ever felt like this.

“Feel that, Daniel?”- Rick gasped, pushing his erection to the hilt, making Daryl whimper in pleasure.

The escort was far gone, with closed eyes, sometimes moaning loudly , sometimes gasping for air. It wasn’t just with Rick though, he'd had previous sessions that felt just as good, with the difference that sometimes he would have some good experiences and sometimes some bad ones; the latter he just prefered to forget overall.

Rick only smiled at the pure bliss written all over Daryl’s face. He didn't know whether he was smiling because the man beneath in was being so receptive or simply because if felt good to have sex again after such a long time. Either way, he never wanted to stop. 

“Do you like this cock?”- Rick loved talking dirty with his lovers. It didn’t matter if he paid for them or not, what mattered for him was how beautifully broken everyone seemed beneath him and he loved having this power.

“Oh hell yeah… Hmmm…”- Daryl replied, a little blush rising up his cheeks. He wanted to moan louder , he wanted Rick to break him apart, even though he would never admit it out loud.

“You feel so good…”- Rick moaned, knowing that he was close.

“Mmm…‘m gonna c-cum , gonna cum…”- Daryl repeated softly, his voice at least 3 tones higher.

“Same… Oh fuck!!!”- Rick gasped as his orgasm rushed.

Daryl’s cock was so hard that it almost hurt. He came right away, Rick's name escaping from his lips as he became soft, all sweet as molasses into Rick’s arms. He couldn’t even feel his legs as his john gently lowered them from his shoulders, making sure to hold Daryl tight, until the man with auburn hair finally regained his balance.

“W-wanna go again?”- Rick was surprised with himself. At his age, it wasn’t easy for him to get up this fast.

“Sure. Lemme just have a cigarette ‘fore?”- Daryl asked, after all , he didn’t know if the client was uncomfortable with smoking.

“Go ‘head. I’m sorry. It’s been a while for me.”- Rick replied, a little bitter as he reminded of the last time he slept with his ex-wife and the last time he had any sex.

“I get it, Rick. Totally.” - A ghost of smile formed in Daryl’s lips as he took his time to light a cigarette, taking a lungful and releasing the air from his lungs. He definitely could go for hours if this man wanted him to.

After a few minutes of break, Daryl finally threw his cigarette on the floor, fixing his jacket and hair. As usual, he looked from side to side before joining Rick in the car.

“Lie on your back, please.”- The client asked, already with the camera in his hands, joining the escort in the backseat.

Daryl did what he was told to, still wearing no pants as Rick laid between his tights. For a second, Rick caressed Daryl’s face, sometimes stroking his hair, as the camera kept rolling. He couldn't help but wonder why the man beneath him had chosen this life, but he couldn't wait to find out. 

“You’re really gorgeous, Daniel, if you allow me to say…”- Rick confessed, zooming a little to film right into Daryl’s eyes.

The escort really didn’t know how to react with it, simply blushing and turning his face to the side. He didn't remember anyone saying such a thing for him, not even someone as kind as the man with the camera. 

“Ain’t nobody ever called me that, Rick.”- Daryl admitted, with a small smile; but it wasn’t a smile of happiness, it was a smile of bitterness; of genuine hurt. It was bittersweet.

“Come on now, that’s travesty. You’re absolutely gorgeous and if no one ever told you that, to the hell with them. “- Rick joked, setting the camera in his hands so he could catch nice angles from the escort’s sharp face. He could swear that ‘Daniel’s cheekbones could cut someone.

Without warning, Rick teased Daryl once more, wanting to make this time even more special. Daryl was a sight to see while he was being pleasured. Slowly, Rick started to love the way the escort’s hips moved to meet his moves, how his eyes remained closed and his small mouth whimpered with every pound, a thin line of sweat already forming on his forehead. 

The thrusting was a bit more intense now than before and Rick loved the fact that Daryl had embraced him with his thighs, in order to get some more friction. Everything was so intense that Daryl barely could feel himself.

“Jesus…”- Daryl moaned, no longer ashamed of showing exactly how he was feeling. Countless times he had to pretend actually being aroused by a client, but this wasn’t one of those days.

Everything became more and more erratic, from movements to uneven breaths, with the car making some noises, going back and forth. Both wanted this time to last longer, but both were way too excited to last, too deep into numbness.

“Such a pretty boy.”- There’s no way in the universe Rick would expect that reaction coming from the escort after sayin his last words. 

In a matter of seconds, Daryl went from lustful to paralyzed. His eyes became darker and he clenched himself for a while. He promised himself that he would never allow those memories from his past mess up with his present. He promised himself to not be that kind of guy anymore, but alas, Destiny once more had decided to kick their favorite punching bag right were it hurt.

“Please sir… Please d-don’t call me that.”- Daryl pleaded. He didn’t want to destroy the perfect night he was having with that Rick guy, but that particular quote had awaken something that was long buried in the deepest depths of his mind.

Rick thought that the change of tone and treatment was strange. He wondered what he could possibly had done wrong. - “Hey Daniel, I’m so sorry about that.” Immediately, he released the camera in his hands, stopping to thrust himself in and quickly pulling himself out.

“No, Rick... That’s not… Ya didn’t need ta stop. Jus’ needed a minute." Daryl was already feeling bad about himself, but having Rick stroking his hands afterwards at least helped him to feel a little better about the whole situation.

“It’s all right, Daniel. I’m truly sorry for triggering you like this. It wasn’t my intention and I’m very ashamed of doing so. I definitely stepped your boundaries.”- Rick reassured him, taking time to caress the escort’s face.

Daryl had never been so thankful for someone stopping a session immediately. He was even gladder when Rick didn’t try to touch him right away, instead, just dressing both their pants again and respecting Daryl’s personal space. The client quickly got out of the car, turning to the side so he could go to the driver’s seat and grab a small bottle of water, going back as quickly as he could, helping Daryl to sit down and take a few sips in the water.

“ ‘m so sorry ‘bout this, Rick. Gimme a few minutes. I’ll be right back at ya.”- Daryl started, taking another sip in the bottle. He never felt so embarrassed in his life and  embarrassing wasn’t even a word in the Dixon’s dictionary, but he was just helpless.

“Listen, Daniel. There’s nothing wrong with what happened right now. I was the one who crossed the line. It’s not on you.”- Rick replied, making sure to keep caressing Daryl’s hand.

Daryl remained quiet, just staring at his own hands. Just when he had something good for himself, he managed to fuck that up too. Maybe everyone was right and maybe he was trash after all, but he needed the money. He hadn’t eat anything in four days and since he was lost in the big city now, he couldn’t even hunt something to eat. He was too proud to admit, but he hoped his john hadn’t given up on him just yet.

“Rick, lemme make this right. C'mon, man… ’m good ta go.”- Daryl tried to sound as confident as before, but deep inside he was desperate. Business hadn’t been good for him lately and he needed money to eat. He was starving.

“I don’t think I can keep going with this, Daniel. It’ll be better if we try to do this another time, don't you think? Here, take $300 for the session and the inconvenience.”- Rick said, offering him the money.

“Rick, we can make it right this time, I promise you, sir.”- Daryl was starting to realize that maybe it was the last time he would see that man and suddenly, he didn’t want it to be the last.

“Come on, Daniel, just relax. It’s not like I’m going away forever.’- Rick chuckled. - “Let’s just wait a few days and then I can try and book you again. How does that sound?”

Daryl didn’t even feel the need of replyng. It seemed like he was shutting himself down all over again, but at least now he had enough money to go for a month. Maybe if some of his old clients booked him during the week he could make some more tips. He quickly got out of the car, already lighting up another cigarette; the money already safe in his pockets.

“Daniel, is everything all right? Hey, can I drive you next to your place or something? If you want me to, I mean?” - Rick offered. After all, it was getting colder and he just couldn’t make the man walk all alone at two in the morning.

“Ain’t here for charity, Mr. Friendly. Thank you for the night though.”- Daryl was freezing that night, but his pride was bigger. He didn’t want to feel like a burden.

And with that, Daryl completely disappeared into the dark alleys, leaving a very confused and frustrated Rick behind. He knew that eventually, his john would come around again, but until then, he just wanted to go as far as he could from that nice car and the illusion that things would get better.

Obviously things never went better for him, so he just laughed to himself and the tragedy that he called his life. Once a Dixon trash, always a Dixon trash.

**To be Continued.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you guys enjoyed reading it just as much as I enjoyed writing it! On the next chapters, you guys will understand why his prices are so low....
> 
> My tumblr is vickykun.tumblr.com! Come chat with me whenever you feel like ;D 
> 
> psa: do not take Daryl's example as the standart for sex workers. Remember that just like in the show, here, Daryl is a southern rural man who also happens to be poor ( a redneck , as he calls himself) who doesn't have studies and joined the lifestyle because he had no other options back in the days.
> 
> Not all sex workers are like him irl, but I think it's important to clarify that he is what he is because of the circumstances of his life.


	2. Darling, darling, doesn't have a problem...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl deals with some demons from his past....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Drug use ( I've added this to the original tags just in case, but there'll be only a small mention of heavy drugs being used) Might be triggering, so be safe y'all

With the money he received from Rick, Daryl got to have at least a decent meal at a local restaurant before calling it a night. After a few more hours, he had a taxi drop him off in front of his five story building. His heart was thumping and he nervously clawed his pockets, looking for his keys.  Hopefully he would be able to pay the rent and buy some food in the morning.

He laughed bitterly because it was already morning and if he actually wanted to enjoy the fresh products from the farmer’s market, he would have to wake up early.  For someone who’ve had just one client, it’s been a ridiculously long day, especially because he went to look for a  few jobs, but ended up wasting time and not even getting a chance.

Most of the time it wasn’t for his skills, because he was very skilled in handwork, however, it looked like a burden, whenever he walked in, there was one or two of his clients working at the same place and in his heart, he truly wanted to believe that it wasn’t their fault that he couldn’t get a job. He was sure that most of them wouldn’t say that they’ve spend a night with him, but even so, he couldn’t help but wonder why no one would give him a decent job.

Of course, there were times in which being an escort seemed like an amazing idea, especially for someone who’d just lost their father and had his brother put into jail. He was completely alone, and with no studies, he knew he wouldn’t go far in his small town, so he decided to move out; get out of the woods and step into the big city.

Life, always, have been made of  choices and as soon as Daryl saw himself homeless, with nowhere to go, without money to eat or even to buy clothes, he decided that he had to do what he had to in order to survive.

Daryl bit his lip, lost in his own thoughts, thinking about the past. If there was anything he hated more than being helpless, was remembering his long gone story. He hated to wake up at late night, all sweat and scared after so many vivid nightmares.

The worst part was that those nightmares were real; none of them were a lie, except the ones where his father would still scold him and mock him over his choices.

And just when everything seemed to be going just fine, he had to fuck up. He couldn’t lose another client like this. It’s been days, hell, weeks since Daryl had an actual paying john. Some thought that his rates were too expensive for someone who wasn’t even properly dressed and some would complain over his boundaries, saying things like ‘what kind of whore goes saying I won’t do this, I won’t do that’, and if anything, Daryl was just too proud to give in.

He wasn’t the young man who would do whatever anyone asked to have some more money; those days were long gone. He knew he would starve, he knew he would’ve to plead so his landlord could let him pay the rent a little later than the other residents.

As he sat on his couch, completely exhausted, he contemplated the painting on his wall, something he himself had painted a while ago, when he still had a dream and when he thought that maybe life could get a little better for him.

He kept repeating the scene with Rick in his mind, over and over again, as if it was enough to push all the bad memories inside of his head, but it didn’t matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t take all those things away, especially now, after he brushed off simply the most important client he’d ever had in his whole life.

Daryl was so lost in his own mind that he didn’t hear the phone ringing next to hm. For a brief moment, he got out of his trance, picking up the phone without even thinking, just hoping that it was the nice john with pretty eyes and comforting hands.

“Hello, Daniel speaking.”- Daryl started, with his voice a little more excited than before.

“Hi, Daniel. Did you miss me?”- A strong voice came from the other line.

“Nah, nah, ‘told ya ta stop callin’ me! Leave me ‘lone, man!”- Daryl couldn’t be more pissed off and scared. Of everything he needed that moment, talking to that guy was the last of his priorities.

“Babe, I miss you. Don’t tell me you don’t miss me.”-The voice insisted, a little rougher.

“Ain’t nobody’s babe, Shane. Leave me tha hell ‘lone!”- With that, Daryl took a deep breath,  hanging up without any warning.

And in a matter of time, there he was, sitting in his couch with a glass of some old beer in his hands, flipping over channels, but not actually in the mood to watch anything. He should be sleeping already, but his mind was too busy for doing so.

When the sun was almost rising, that’s when he finally decided to give up and get some sleep.  It was a battle until he finally reached his bed, not really changing his clothes, but taking everything off instead. It was cold, but he preferred to sleep naked rather than have to take a bath and put some pajamas on.

Laying comfortably, he looked over the white ceiling, trying to have his mind as relaxed as possible so he could sleep peacefully, but as soon as he turned to the side and saw a wasted condom resting over his nightstand, a flashback came right into his mind.

**\--- flashback----**

_It was Daryl’s 19 birthday and second birthday of his life as an escort.  He was very excited to meet a client that has booked him for the night. $1000 dollars was what his john offered for him and since he needed to buy some furniture for his newly rented apartment, a little more money was always welcome._

_As agreed before, Daryl patiently waited for his client in front of one of the most expensive motels from their city. He dressed plain jeans with a few cut out spaces and a grey hoodie. Anyone who saw him would peg him as just a regular college boy and that amused him greatly and made him sad at the same time. He  really wished he was one of those regular students, but maybe, hopefully one day he would, especially after tipping so much with this business._

_Just in time, a huge black SUV parked next to the place where Daryl was resting and quickly, the door opened automatically. Inside, there was a man dressed in a black tuxedo, with grey hair and a thin golden band around his finger._

_The man was quiet during the whole way to the motel and remained this way, sometimes just asking if the young man was all right. Daryl didn’t pay much attention to what his john said, but he did listen to the word ‘party booking' and just the thought of making something like that brought a shiver into his spine._

_“I d-don’t do party bookings, sir”- Daryl tried to reason the man, but he knew that some johns would just keep insisting, especially ones with tons of money._

_“I’ll pay you $2.000 for a party booking and a fuck. I know such a pretty boy like you enjoy money just as much as I do.” -The man offered with a smirk;_

_Daryl stopped to think about the proposal for a while. Two thousand dollars was enough for him to buy at least part of the material he needed to join the Art’s course he’d been dreaming about and he knew that chances like this only came once in a lifetime._

_“Fine, sir. I’ll do it.”- Without really wanting to be part of it, Daryl ended up accepting the offer._

_Something in the back of his head was saying that everything seemed too easy. He noticed that the man was wealthy, especially after he reserved one of the most expensive rooms from the Motel. He also ordered the most expensive champagne his money could buy and guided the boy to their room, after they parked into the small garage of their suite._ A _s Daryl  expected, the room was huge, with a king sized bed in the center, a mini kitchen, a shower and a digital television attached to the wall in front of the bed._

_The man, who was called Stephen, calmly unbuttoned his sleeves while Daryl was already undressing himself, from head to toes, until there was nothing on him besides the small rosary with a Jesus’s cross around his pale neck. If anything, he would never take the necklace off because he felt more protected this way._

_“Make yourself hard.”- The man ordered, without even looking at the escort, clearly focused in something else._

_While the young man laid in the bed, masturbating, the older one prepared a drink for himself, something with Vodka and red wine, maybe a Bloodcot. Daryl judt observed as he kept trying to make himself hard._

_He couldn’t understand why it was difficult for him to get aroused on that night, but he knew that partly, the reason was because he didn’t trust the man in his front, but he had no other choice, he knew better than messing up with people that were powerful like that john. 'come on , buddy, help me out', he thought, still stroking himself vigorously._

_Stephen then, still too quiet, rolled up his sleeves, grabbing a small package in his hands and drawing a line with something, just so he could snore it.  After doing whatever it was that he was doing, he approached Daryl with a small mirror and a small plastic bag in his hands._

_“On fours.”- The man ordered, while handling the escort a small flask of lube. -“Make yourself wet’. - The man’s voice was raspy._

_Daryl didn’t even argue with the man. He simply got all on fours , getting his fingers moisten with lube before fingering himself. He could feel his body trembling, but kept telling himself that he should just keep going. At least his finger helped him to get a little harder._

_Once he was done with the preparation, Stephen knelt on the smooth mattress, leaving the mirror with a single line of white powder right in front of Daryl’s hands._

_“Sir… Is tha'...?”- The escort dared to ask, only receiving a slap in his face in return._

_“Snort it.”- Stephen’s voice was severe and his eyes were dark in lust. Clearly, he was being serious about the drug thing._

_The young man felt his heart beating faster and faster. He never did cocaine before and he knew that party bookings were about this, but he had to do it, otherwise, he knew that the consequences could be worse._

_Disgusted with himself, Daryl just leaned down, pressing one of the sides of his nose with a thin tube on the side, snoring the substance quickly enough so he wouldn’t feel it hurting too much. His nose flared, actually burning inside as he scratched the excess off._

_He felt dizzy, slowly losing himself to the rush of dopamine as the man behind him finally pushed in without a single warning. The thrusting was already intense even though they had just started with it. Daryl never felt so scared in his life, especially when he noticed that the man wasn’t even dressing a condom._

_Behind him, Stephen only grunted, thrusting to the hilt, sometimes slapping the escort's butt and sometimes biting his smooth neck._

_“Snort it.” - Stephen prepared a new line, never stopping to thrust into the young man._

_“Sir, please… One’s enough sir…”- Again, as a reply, Daryl received nothing but a hard slap in his face and a hard voice saying ‘do it already’._

_He had no choice but doing it , knowing that soon enough he would lose himself again. After the second line, he didn’t know what was going on around him anymore, he felt a rush of euphoria and for a moment he was glad. At least all the intense thrusting wasn’t hurting anymore and he could just pretend to be doing something else. It was easier this way._

_His mind was flowing to another dimension and suddenly he felt his heart skipping a bit as he flashbacked a scene where he was walking in front of the University of his dreams, so distracted that he haven’t seen another young man pointing a camera to his face._

_“Say cheese!”- The man’s voice sounded sweet; sweeter than everything Daryl’s ever heard._

_“Fuck off…”- Was Daryl’s only reaction to the other man. He didn’t know why he said something like that, but he wasn’t used to people approaching him like the other boy did._

_Even after being flipped off, the young man with beautiful blue eyes and an expensive camera in hands just smiled, checking back the screen before smiling again and walking away._

_That was the most beautiful boy Daryl’s ever seen and certainly he wouldn’t forget about him this easily. He could keep replying that voice in his head non stop, and still, he would never get tired of it._

_Everything went down the drain when he was roughly pulled back to the reality after a very hard slap on his already bruised cheek. It seemed like Stephen was calling him for a long time now while he was flashbacking. It was a matter of time until the client actually came right inside Daryl,with a loud grunt. A few minutes later, Daryl was left there, with a pile of money over his trembling body, a trail of purple marks around his neck and back and a bruised noise. He never felt so dirty and so ashamed of himself as he felt on that night._

**\---- End of Flashback-----**

Daryl woke up trembling and crying, like he didn’t do for a long time. He felt disgusted, upset, but mostly scared. He was young back when everything happened, but it still hurt him, whenever he laid with someone, whenever he was touched and that made him upset. He could just pray and hope that someday he would forget all of this. It wasn't like he hated having sex for money, he loved what he did, but unfortunatelly, he couldn't brush off the bad memories that surrounded his thoughs. 

He didn’t even notice what he was doing until he saw the phone already in his hands. He was so lost that he didn’t even remember calling that particular number, but as soon as the phone rang, a very known voice answered and Daryl went completely mute.

“Hmmm..Hello, R-Rick speaking?”- A sleepy voice replied, but since no one answered he decided to ask again - “Hello… Hello? If this is a joke… Come on..Hmm… It’s five in the morning.”

Daryl remained quiet until the voice in the other line got tired and hanged up the phone. At least he got to try and calm down with Rick’s voice. He wished he hand't given up the night with the other man. Maybe he would be sleeping at his place or at some motel with his john, but that was just wishful thinking. If only Rick knew how good was hearing his voice. If only he knew, If only….

**To be Continued…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh well, a short chapter with some important part of his past! On the next chapter, you'll see Rick trying to figure what happened with Daryl and what he hides behind those beautiful blue eyes....


	3. He laughs like god, his mind is like a diamond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so they meet again...

There was nothing Rick disliked more than having to wake up early and he definitely attributed that to his inner photographer, who would spend hours and hours editing material during dawn, with nothing but a nice cup of coffee by his side and his little cat, Mr.Whiskers, purring upon his feet.

But that particular Thursday was special for him, because it was about time to watch and edit his latest recordings and nothing could excite him more than this, especially after such a pleasant night with his new muse.

Yawning, he quietly got out of bed, took a quick shower, prepared a black coffee mug and sat in front of his Mac desktop. He couldn’t wait to see the results of the whole filming and this time, he hoped the camera had recorded every single detail he wanted; after all, people as intriguing and mysterious as Daniel only came once in a lifetime.

As soon the record started rolling, Rick comfortably rested his back on the chair, with legs crossed, as an elegant slipper hanging on his feet.

Rick’s eyes were shining as soon as the escort began speaking, with an assertive voice; though low, as one of a man of few words. Everything about Daniel was intriguing and exciting for Rick; from his eyes, from the tone of his voice and the way his eyes were always unfocused, not looking for anything in particular.

He wondered why one of Daniel’s teeth was missing and suddenly he also wanted to know what his deal with the dad thing was. Maybe he had issues or maybe he’d had a bad experience related to daddy/little boy play, but either way, Rick wouldn’t push the issue this soon.

Rick held his breath for the third time on that morning. What he felt for the escort was visceral; he couldn’t explain. He never felt this interested in someone before and something in the back of his head was saying that it wasn’t the first time he’d seen those eyes, but he couldn’t think about anyone in particular, just as much as he tried.

After two good hours editing his new material he finally decided to make his breakfast, but suddenly he had an even better idea.  Since he still haven’t had his breakfast, maybe Daniel would like to join him.  He knew that maybe he was reaching too much, but what could possibly be wrong? Calling someone he just met for a breakfast wasn’t that weird, was it?

In the end he decided to give it a try, maybe the escort would accept anyway. After all, Rick was the one who ended up pushing the man away and he definitely wanted to fix what he’d done.

As he prepared a nice table of breakfast with fruits, jelly, bread and eggs, he dialed Daniel’s number and waited patiently for the reply. It took minutes and Rick almost thought about giving up when a small voice came from the other line.

“D-Daniel speaking.”-  Daryl wanted to beat himself up for stuttering; if anything , he hated to sound vulnerable.

“Hey Daniel! How’s everything going?”- Rick started, with the phone comfortably rested on his shoulder while he mixed the scrambled eggs with some bell pepper in his pan.

“ ‘m fine. You?”-  Daryl coughed because sleeping naked during cold wasn’t one of his best ideas.

“I’m great! Well, I was wondering, if it’s not too bold to invite you for a breakfast? I f you wanna, I can catch you and bring you to my place.”- Rick bithis lips, just hoping that the other man would accept.

“Ya seriously callin’ someone ya don’t know for breakfast? Ya one of’ kind, Rick.”- Daryl laughed because he could definitely teach the man a thing or two about safety.

“Oh, well… I didn’t think about it ‘cause I trust you…I’m sorry for being so bold since we’d just met and I thought… Nevermind.”- It was official. Rick decided that he’d  blown everything up.

“Nah Rick, I can go.”- Daryl was quick to change Rick’s mind. He also didn’t want to lose his chance of meeting his john again.

“Really? That’s great, Daniel! Can I pick you up somewhere? How about that same alley?”- The photographer offered.

“Sure.  Will be meeting ya ‘round 10,fine?”- Daryl tried. He needed some time to prepare himself, especially because after so many years in the business, he knew that breakfast probably meant something else.

“Perfect. I’ll be there at the right time. See you. Bye.”- After hanging up, Rick finally breathed again.

For a minute he thought that he had screwed everything up with Daniel, but this time he was a little more confident.  He gave extra love to cooking their meal, because if there was something he loved to do more than taking photographs was seeing people eating his food. He loved cooking and since he was alone now, he had even more time to experiment in the kitchen.

Once he was done with the eggs and the table was all set, even with a small vase of flowers in the middle, Rick decided to make another call while sat at the couch. Smiling, he stared at the small picture of his son, his ex-wife and their baby girl in her arms.

“Hello?”- A boy’s voice answered. It wasn’t too loud, but it was deep, as if its owner was hitting puberty.

“Carl?”- Rick made sure to ask, because with Lori, he would never know.

Even though he hated thinking about this, he was sure that she would find someone for herself and he knew she ahd every right.

“Hey dad!! What’s up?”- The teenager called excited. He’ had been missing his dad nowadays.

“I’m good, how about you? Your mom, Judith?”- The last name sounded a bit bitter in his mouth. He knew that she wasn’t his, but he loved her nonetheless.

“All fine! Dad, I have to go now, I’m late to school. Bye, love you!”- The boy replied, quickly rushing to catch the school bus in time.

Rick chuckled because as usual, he didn’t have time enough to say ‘love you back’ to his son. He was surprised over how fast his son was growing up.  As all parents, he wanted Carl to be his small child forever, but hearing his son sounding so mature made him feel quite old. He laughed once more, covering the table with a thin tablecloth before heading to his garage; it was time to pick up the escort.

Just as arranged before, Daryl was there at his usual corner, this time dressing a leather vest and tight jeans.  Rick just smiled through the window, waving a soft hello.  As usual, Daryl looked from side to side, combing his fingers into his hair and following to the car.

When he got into the Audi, Daryl didn’t say a single word, just recollecting his hands and resting them on his thighs. As Rick himself gave noticed, the escort was a man of few words and soon this behavior was only confirmed when Daryl licked his lips and turned to face the driver before lowering his head.

For a minute Rick thought that it was just a joke, but as soon as Daryl reached his hands to open the driver’s pants, Rick almost fishtailed the car; his eyes confused in shock.

“What are you doing, Daniel?”- Rick wasn’t mad; however his heart was beating faster than ever.

“ m’ sorry, Rick, thought ya…”- Daryl officially hated his whole existence. He really thought that his john called him for his services.

“Listen, Daniel. I didn’t call you for that… I mean, not now.”- Rick always liked to make his intentions pretty clear.-“I want you to have a breakfast with me and want you watch the recording I’m working on.”

“ m’ sorry, Rick.”- With that, Daryl just stopped talking overall, especially because he felt like he had embarrassed himself enough already.

The whole trip to Rick’s apartment was quiet, but not strange since Rick had tuned the radio in again and for that, Daryl was glad. He hated how anxious he became next to Rick. He wasn’t like that, he was shy, but not with clients; He never had been.  If he could, he would punch himself in the face and tell himself to ‘man up’, just like his dad used to say.

As soon as they got to Rick’s flat, the escort couldn’t believe his eyes; the building was located in one of the most expensive areas from their city and Daryl would know, because once he served a very wealthy client at the same place; a famous Hollywood director or something like that, as he recalled.

“Come with me, Daniel. I hope you don’t mind the mess, I’ve been working in way too many projects lately.”- Rick smiled, parking his car and heading to the elevator.

Just as Daryl suspected, it was one of those buildings with one elevator for apartment. He definitely has been in that place before.  Rick quickly opened the door of his apartment, already turning the air conditioning on and opening the curtains of a huge window with panoramic view. The whole city was pretty clear from there and the view was breathtaking.

“Wow.”- Daryl gasped; his new john was definitely wealthy, he decided.   

“As I said, don’t mind the mess, I’m just finishing the editing of my latest video , which I definitely want you to see.” - Rick pointed to the screen of his mac. 

Daryl remained quiet, with arms crossed, just looking around.  It wasn’t needed to be a mind reader to guess that he was feeling uncomfortable, but Rick quickly tried to change the mood, playing some jazz in his blu-ray and heading to the table.

“Yer place s’nice…”- Daryl said, noticing the number of electronic equipment thrown around. If he was there a few years ago with Merle, they both would definitely clean that place.

“Thanks. Come here, join me at the table.”- Rick offered, pulling a chair so Daryl could sit on the opposite side of the table.

Last time Daryl had seen so many food in a table was the Christmas he spent serving Shane in his apartment. Shane had just became deputy and he decided to order tons of food for them and even though Daryl said that it was too much, Shane always shook his head saying that nothing was enough for his beautiful man.

A small smile is drawn in his lips as he recalled the times he’d spent with Shane. The deputy was a good person, too assertive sometimes, but had a good heart.  If he hadn’t become so obsessed with Daryl, they could’ve been something more, but in the end, they were nothing but escort and client, and honestly, the auburn haired man prefered this way. 

“Thas’ nice of ya, Rick. Thanks for the grub.”- Daryl was genuinely thankful for the kindness and he didn’t even mind the small smile in Rick’s face after he said ‘grub’; it was just nice to have someone taking care of him every now and then.

“I see you’re from the south, right? Or maybe north? If it’s not way too nosy of me, where do you come from, Daniel?”

“Mmm... How ‘bout ya tell me where ya com’ from?” Daryl quickly turned the situation. It was the escort’s protection, to never talk about their personal lives with clients.

“Sure. I’m from a small town too, King County, Georgia.”- Rick smiled. “My family moved in to New York when I was about 13, so I kind of lost my accent with time.”

“Georgia’s nice. Heard s’ really hot down there…”- Daryl replied, not only stuffing his face with strawberries, but catching all of them with his hands.

“Yeah, it was. I kind of miss my town, but I actually like it here in Atlanta. I’ve moved in so I could finish my university and kinda ended falling in love with this beautiful place.” - Rick confessed.

“Beautiful…? Ain’t nothing beautiful ‘bout this town, Rick…” Daryl knew he sounded bitter, but the place has never actually been his home.  He always felt like he was an outcast.

“Who knows?”- Rick smiled once more. -“Maybe you just haven’t found the right places. I would love to take you for a trip one of these days.’

The escort didn’t reply at all. Instead, he just blushed, stuffing his face with some more food, before Rick guided him to his couch. He decided to keep the dishes for later this time, and instead of moving to the living room's table, he grabbed two trays and gave one for Daryl, so they both could keep having their breakfast.

Once finished, they both left their trays on the floor and Rick finally pressed the play. He couldn’t wait to see Daryl’s reaction and as unstable the escort  was, Rick couldn’t possibly know what to expect from him.

It all started with Daryl talking softly at the dark alley, as Rick quietly recorded him, sometimes making a few questions, sometimes just focusing on the little details. The Daryl who was now sitting by Rick’s side bit his lip, but didn’t look as nervous.

However, everything changed when he started being fucked. Daryl was fascinated, because he never had seen himself being fucked before, besides from mirrors, but like this, with the camera, was definitely different, especially because he could hear the sound of his voice, just moaning pathetically as Rick pounded him fast.

For a minute he felt truly embarrassed for himself, but on the other, Daryl started to feel aroused, reminding how good his night with Rick was. As for the photographer, he remained quiet, just studying Daryl’s expressions during the whole movie.

But everything changed once the last scene was headed to Rick’s car. Daryl had his legs hanging open as the photographer as gently rested in the middle of them, thrusting in an out slowly, just as a torture.  Daryl didn’t like this part at all. He didn’t like to see his face so vulnerable as he was being pounded, he didn’t like how his eyebrows were furrowed in pleasure, as his mouth was hanging open, shamelessly showing the missing tooth that he hated so much.

He couldn’t stand looking at his face anymore, especially when in a very brief moment, the Daryl from the recording opened his eyes in shock, showing hope and fear at the same time, just as if he hoped this man would be the one who would change his life and for a moment, he felt pathetic and the Daryl at the couch felt just the same way.

The present Daryl started to bite his thumb and in a matter of seconds he left the couch, one arm safely wrapping around his waist as he kept biting his fingers, just looking at the huge window’s view.

“You don’t like seeing yourself so vulnerable, do you?”- Rick guessed, slowly approaching him and yet, keeping a nice distance.

Daryl didn’t reply, but shook his head in agreement. Seeing his face so lost made him realize how he felt during all his sessions and he didn’t like that. He didn’t like looking vulnerable, he didn’t like to sound something that was easily broken.

“ m’ sorry…”- Daryl tried, even though he knew it wasn’t his fault.

“Don’t need to be sorry. I just wanted you to see the movie because, Daniel, gosh, you’re absolutely breathtaking. I love the vulnerability and at the same time, strength in your eyes.  I swear I never, ever filmed anyone as gorgeous as you.”

“ m’ not gorgeous, Mr. Friendly. Ain’t even pretty…”- Daryl kept biting his thumb nervously.

“I’m not talking about your physical appearance, Daniel. Though you are gorgeous, indeed, I’m talking about your eyes, about your mind.  I wanna get to know you better I wanna learn you.”

“Ain’t nobody’s mistery…”- Daryl replied, finally stopping to bite his finger.

“Nobody said you were. Listen, Daniel.”- Rick approached some more.-“I don’t wanna make you feel bad about yourself. You’re not an object. I just, I liked what we did the last time and I think you’re fascinating.

“Ya barely know me, Rick.”- Daryl was slowly startingto feel his walls breaking once more.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, Daniel. I don’t know you, but I do want to. I’m not saying I wanna date you or something like that. You’re like a muse for me, Daniel and I would love to explore you , explore the person you are, if you let me.”

It wasn’t a catcall, but Daryl had a serious blush rising against his cheek. For Rick, it might sound like something natural, but for him, that sounded just like a love letter. No one ever described Daryl like this; no one even tried to understand him besides his brother Merle.

“Fine then, Rick. Ya can try and learn mor’ ‘bout me, but If I say stop, ya stopping it.”- Daryl made sure to let Rick know about his limits.

“Great. You may take your clothes off, to begin with, then.”- Rick ordered as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

For a minute, Daryl thought that Rick was just like his other clients, but as soon as he saw Rick grabbing his camera, he knew what that was about.  As someone who also loved art, Daryl knew exactly why seeing someone for real meant actually seeing then bare, in their pure essence.

He started to think that maybe if he have had the chance to study arts, maybe he could be working in projects like this as well, maybe he could even have met Rick in the past too, given the fact the local artistic community get along pretty well.

Without ceremonies, Daryl took his clothes off, leaving the vest on though because he would always go about his own rules.  Rick grabbed a white bathrobe and asked the escort to follow him.

“I want you to take a very nice bath first.  Pretend that I’m not even here.”- Rick whispered, leaving Daryl comfortable enough so he could take a shower.

Daryl was pretty glad because he hadn’t had a good warm shower for months now, given the fact that his water bill was late. Back when he lived in the woods with his family, he didn’t mind cold water, but after years almost freezing in the streets, he could use a nice warm bath at least.

Rick respected Daryl, turning his head to the side so he couldn’t look to Daryl’s back. He was sure that the southern man was hiding something, but he decided to keep as respectful he could.

For a moment, it really was like Rick wasn’t even there. With a sigh in contentment, Daryl let the hot water wash his hair and his face as his head was facing up, with his eyes closed and lips parted. The water felt just as soothing as a warm hug and for that, Daryl was pretty glad.

In 15 minutes, is like nothing else existed besides him and his body. Daryl cleaned himself up, gently spreading the soap around his skin, finally actually touching his skin and feeling its texture, like he didn’t do in a long time.

That warm bath reminded him of his old town, his the mountains of North Georgia. Reminded him of his sweet mother before she lost herself to the drinking habit. When she would carry him in her arms and wrap him up before he went to sleep. All her stories about princes and princesses and how someday, he could be be the prince of a beautiful girl or a beautiful boy.

He reminded how she would brush his hair before he went to sleep and how she would smile whenever he brought fishes with his brother Merle. He actually missed him the most; his brother was his rock when his mother was gone and he had no one else to go to.

If Merle wasn’t put into jail so early in his life, maybe all the beating he took from his father could be avoided. He remembered how bittersweet thinking about Merle during all the pain was. With all his heart, he just wanted his older brother there to protect him.

And he was glad when after a few years. Merle came back to avenge him. After discovering everything their father did to Daryl, he didn’t waste time and killed their old man all in once. Daryl still could remember how tight his brother had embraced him, saying how much he loved his baby brother and how he wished that he was someone in his life, different from Merle himself and their father.

That was the last time Daryl had been hugged, the last contact he had with his safe haven and every now and then, whenever he felt scared after nightmares, all he needed to do was reminding of that sweet embrace and just then he would peacefully go to sleep.

He was daydreaming so deeply that he almost forgot that it wasn’t his shower; it wasn’t his bathroom either and not even his own house. He hissed as he felt the cold water hitting his skin and quickly turned the shower off.

Daryl felt a lot better about himself after such a relaxing bath. He quietly thanked Rick with a nod and quickly dried himself with the bathrobe, dressing it right after.

“Had a good bath?”- Rick smiled, already preparing the camera in his hands.

“Bes’ in years. Thanks, Rick.” - Daryl wasn’t really good with thanks, but at least he tried.

“Well, let’s get started then…”- Rick lowered himself, sitting on his couch with the camera in his hands.

Daryl was now comfortably knelt on the couch, completely naked if it wasn’t for his vest, which was open just so it could show his chest.  He quickly moisten his lips with saliva, before going forward, grabbing Rick’s released cock into the tight warmth of his mouth.

Slowly, he bobbed his head up and down, never stopping to look Rick into the eyes. He was fairly skilled with his hands, as one of them worked on Rick’s balls and the other stroked him up and down, his tongue darting over the head of the cock every now and then.

“Fuck…”- Rick moaned, already closing his eyes, but never releasing the camera in his hands.

Daryl was the second to shut his eyes, bobbing his head a little faster than before, sometimes deep throating Rick, sometimes spreading a few kisses upon his cock. For a moment, he released the cock in his mouth and looked up.

“How ya wanna cum , Rick?”- Daryl asked, never stopping to stroke him.

“Fucking you against my window… How about that?”- Rick moaned, gently stroking Daryl’s hair as the escort kept masturbating him.

“Fair…”- Daryl mimicked one of Rick’s favorite line with a small smile upon his lips.

He never had been fucked against a window before. Mirrors? Yes, walls? Most definitely, but like this, so open and vulnerable so everyone could see him? That was the first time and though he would hate to admit, the idea really aroused him, especially because they were at the last story, something like the 20 story, so no one would possibly see it.

But the possibility of being caught was definitely one of his turns one and if that’s how Rick wanted him, he sure as hell would go far and beyond.

Carefully, Rick left the couch, lowering the rest of the pants and taking his shirt off until he was completely bare. He quickly went for his desk, grabbing a few condoms and a flask of lube.  If his plans were right, he would go all day long with Daniel.

When he approached Darryl, the escort already turned his back to him, indicating that he wanted to be taken from behind and that aroused Rick even more. He quickly dressed the condom on, glad to be already hard after such a good attention it received from the the other man.

And as soon as he was properly dressed, he gently pressed Daryl on the glass of the window, careful to finger him and tease him for long 4 minutes before actually doing the do.  He teased his own cock some more and finally introduced himself, gasping for air over the warm tightness; It felt just like going home.

Daryl gasped in reply, eyes pretty shut as his body was squeezed against the cold window. His cock was also pressed there and suddenly everything, every single pore of his body was sending small waves of pleasure to his brain; his body was on fire. 

Rick only felt encouraged by the moans, thrusting in and out slowly, just taking his time to get used to the tightness all over again. Once he caught the right rhythm, he started to thrust a little harder, deeper, but never rushing his pace. 

Sometimes his hands would snake around Daryl’s chest, sometimes teasing his cock and sometimes caressing his waist. But it was only when Rick wrapped one of his hands around Daryl’s neck, that the escort actually started to see stars. He wouldn’t admit this either, but he loved when men grabbed him by the neck. He didn’t like his breath being played with, but just like this, with fingers gently pressing, was enough to make him leak like a faucet.

With the same small gasps, Daryl rested his forehead on the cold glass right in front of his face, knowing that if Rick kept this any longer, he wouldn’t be able to hold himself any longer. He wasn’t a newbie though, he knew that sex was usually fast, but if only he could handle it a little more...

Rick whispered the sweetest things upon Daryl’s ears, sometimes grabbing a lobe between his teeth and gently pulling it to the back. The window was already becoming blurry when a loud noise of something breaking startled the men. A tall woman with brown hair and a very fair skin stared in shock, with hands hanging in the air as a whole glass platter hit the floor; small pieces of chocolate cake spreading all around the broken glass as a loud scream in horror rose from her chest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh well, hope you guys liked this chapter :) more drama to come as we're introduced to Lori and Shane.


	4. Fooling everyone, telling them he's having fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past comes knocking on Daryl's door again.

For a brief moment, time seemed to stop around them. Daryl was sweating like hell, completely frozen on the window, not knowing what exactly he could do to change the situation. Rick though, he was mad; furious even.  He softly whispered something into Daryl’s ear before finally pulling out.

Both remained quiet, breaths uneven as the only sound in the room was a low voice muttering words of discouragement. Rick could expect that something like this would happen eventually, he just didn't anticipate anything like that. His heart was beating too fast and his breath was uneven.  

“Daniel. Go to my room. First door on your left. I’ll meet you there in a few.”- Rick ordered in a rigid tone.

As soon as Rick gave his command, Daryl quickly grabbed his clothes that were scattered on the floor and flew to the john’s room, not really bothering to look up and see whoever just invaded Rick’s house.  His heart couldn’t beat any faster.

Having a fetish for being caught was one thing, but actually being caught on act wasn’t as enjoyable as Daryl though it would be. With a long sigh, he finally found the photographer’s room, closing the door behind him.

Rick was livid in the living room, while dressing his pants and buttoning his shirt up. He ruffed in annoyance, combing his hair with both hands while still looking at his window. He couldn’t face her right away because he knew it would be even worse.

He took a deep breath before licking his lips nervously.” What are you doing here?”- Rick’s voice was rough, though he didn’t raise it yet.

“What are you doing???? What are you doing, Rick?”- The feminine voice started to shout.

“Shut it, Lori! Who gave you the right to invade my house like this?”´- That was the last straw for Rick. Of everything she did, the one thing he actually hated was when she invaded his apartment without warning him first.

“T-that’s… You gave me a key!! I’m the mother of your children and I have the right to come and go as I please!!”- Lori was clearly nervous.  She never imagined that one day she would find her husband with another man.

“I’ll say it one more time, Lori. This is MY house, not yours. You don’t have any right to come without warning me first! Who the hell do you think you are?”- Rick threw his hands to the air, finally facing her.

“Oh, for God’s sake, Rick! I would never imagine that you would be doing something like that! How should I know?”- Lori took her breath, trying to calm her speeding heart.

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about! Fuck, Lori, how many times we need to have this conversation? You don’t show up here unless you talk to me first! We’ve already established this!”- Rick’s eyes became darker and darker.

“A-all right, I’m sorry! I should’ve told you first, but I wanted to make you a surprise! I even ma…”- She tried, aware that it was hopeless.

“Shut it, Lori! I don’t care about surprises; you’re not my wife anymore, simple as that! You had no right to come blue uninvited!”

“You know what? Screw this! I could be with Carl and Judy, too! What would you do if I were here with your children? Why are you making me sound like the bad guy? You were one disrespecting your family!”

Rick laughed ironically, shaking his head from side to side. He knew he had to calm down because he didn’t want to give her any other reasons to blame him.

“Are you saying that I’m the one to blame? You sure ‘bout that?  Who the hell showed up and broke my privacy first? Are you even listening to yourself, Lori?”-  Rick couldn’t believe on what was happening.

“I’m not saying I’m right, okay? I’m just saying that you’re disrespecting your family by doing something like this on daylight! And with a man? What if Carl was here too? Is that the influence you want to have in him?” - She started, with arms crossed against her chest.

“The fact that I was fucking a man has nothing to do with anything! It could be a girl too, it could be five people even and you still wouldn’t have anything to do with it! What I do in my own house is none of your business, and you know what? If you brought him here, the fault would still be yours!” -   He couldn’t be more pissed off.

“What’s wrong with you, Rick? Are you one of them queers now? You’re a married man with two kids and almost 40 years on your back, what’s going on?” - Lori was genuinely confused because the man in her front wasn’t the same man she used to know.

“I’ll not tolerate comments like this, Lori.”- Rick sounded surprisingly calm.-“You’re going to leave this house in 5 minutes and you’ll not comment about what you saw here with anyone. Understood?”

“Or what? What are you gonna do, Rick? You’re just a coward! A pathetic coward who has no respect for his own family!”- With that, Lori just spat on Rick’s floor and flew as quickly as possible from the apartment.

Rick just waited until she was long gone before grabbing one of his expensive ceramic vases, throwing it on the ground, then pushing one of his chairs on the floor. Lori succeeded in getting into his skin once more and deep inside, he knew she just wanted to go back to what they used to be, but this time, he was the one who didn’t want it anymore.

He never stopped loving her, but if he could turn back time, he wouldn’t marry as early as he did. In the beginning, everything was amazing, but with time, the love was gone and that’s when the fights had started. The only reason why he didn’t regret attaching himself to her was the beautiful child they had together, Carl and even Judith, who wasn’t his, but still had a place in his heart.

Rick never felt as humiliated as he felt on that moment. Lori was partially right, he knew that, because what would’ve happened if his son was there? What would Carl think about his own dad? He was a very smart kid, but still, just a kid and too young to understand.

His heart was still racing when he heard a few steps strutting behind him; it was Daryl, now completely dressed, with a cigarette in his mouth and a wet hair. He probably took another shower before dressing up again.

“Hey.”- Daryl greeted, not exactly sure of what he should say or do.

“Oh, hi Daniel. I’m so sorry about that.”- Rick sighed. “My ex-wife… She thinks that my apartment his hers too. She’s always sneaking around without my permission.”

“Mmm… I got it, Rick.”- The escort was sure that his john was married. He was thankful for his hunter eyes that observed everything, because since the beginning he’d noticed the thin golden band around the john’s finger .

“I don’t even know what to say. Is there anything I can do to compensate your time here?- Rick’s hands were shaking as he tried to open his wallet.

“Rick, hey. Ain’t no need to be sorry. Not the first time it happen’ ta me.”- Daryl smiled, just shaking Rick’s hand before gently grabbing the money.

“W-well. I’m still sorry about what happened. Maybe we could try this another time again? Maybe we could go to a motel or something. At least there’s more privacy there.”- Rick sighed. He definitely prefered his own house, but given the situation, he didn't want to push his luck any further. 

“Sure, Rick. See ya ‘round.” - Daryl smiled once more before leaving the apartment, but as soon as he stepped out, the smile slipped from his face and he quickly lit another cigarette.

Being caught by a client‘s wife wasn’t really a big deal, but it didn’t help his anxiety either. He already lived with the fear of being caught and now that it happened right with the john he liked the most, everything was at least ten times worse.

The worst part was that he didn’t even get to come or make his client come, which felt like unfinished business. He hated having to stop in the middle of a session, but at the same time, he was glad to know about Rick’s wife.

Now he couldn’t stop wondering if Rick was actually divorced or if he just played along to make it seem like he wasn’t cheating his wife with an escort. Either way, what was actually important was the fact that he got some good money on that morning and he was definitely planning to spend it on a new crossbow.

The worst thing about the anxiety was the weighing guilt he was feeling about the whole thing with the john. He kind of overheard Lori’s words and he did acknowledge that the woman had a point.  If he was married with kids too, he wouldn’t like them too catch him doing the dirty with some street walker.

All the way home, Daryl couldn’t get the scene out from his head. He was so distracted with his own thoughts that he didn’t even notice someone in his front, bumping him abruptly.

“The hell, man?”- Daryl was ready to fight whoever bumped him, but as soon as he lifted his face, he wished he never stopped walking in the first place.

“Daniel?”- A tall man with dark brown hair and dressed in a deputy attire glanced to the figure in his front.

“Shane.”- It was more a statement than a greeting, even so, Daryl faked a small smile, because whether he liked or not, the officer was still a client.

“Fuck, I’m getting lucky. Not always we bump with angels around the streets, am I right?”- The officer started, always cheesy, lifting Daryl’s hand before pressing a small kiss there.

“Mmm… Ya know what, m’ busy right now, Shane. Sorry. Have an appointmen’ in a few minutes….’ - Daryl tried to lie, but he knew it was impossible to fool the other man.

“Well, how about a coffee then? My treat! I promise it won’t take long.”- Shane smiled, trying too hard to keep his hands for himself.

Daryl just rolled his eyes; he knew that if he didn’t accept, Shane would never shut up about it, so with a long sigh he decided to give in. Maybe the officer would leave him alone once for all if he gave in at least once.

“Fine.”-  He sighed, taking one last draw on his cigarette before dropping it on the sidewalk.

The path towards the nearest coffee house at the center of town was quiet, but Shane made sure to walk with his right arm draped on Daryl’s shoulder.

When they still haven’t even made it to the cafe, Shane stopped at one of the dark alleys, gently pressing Daryl against the wall. He couldn’t take it anymore; he missed those eyes and those lips so much that he literally would kill for them.

“ s’ that a gun or ya just happy ta see me?”- Daryl mocked, really not in the mood for games.

“Fuck, Dan… I’ve missed you so fucking much…”- Shane whispered, burying his face upon Daryl’s neck, pressing rough kisses everywhere.

“Shane, we ain’t never real. I done told ya that ya just ‘nother john for me. I ain’t nobody’s boyfriend, man.”- Daryl complained, trying to push the officer away, but it was hopeless.

“I don’t know ‘bout that, Daryl… It looks like you were preparing yourself for me. Otherwise, why would you carry … Let’s see… Four condoms in your pocket?”- That was it. Shane has caught Daryl as soon as he reached for his pockets.

Daryl knew he was at least five times stronger than the officer, but he was also aware of his position. As an escort, he was the one against the law to their government and he knew that if he did anything ‘funny’, Shane could arrest him then and there without any need of proofs against him.

Daryl knew that this was the end of the line. He had at least four condoms in his pocket which was more than he was allowed to carry with him. Walking around with so many condoms was exactly what gave sex workers away for the police.

He knew that if any other officers caught him, they could use the condoms against him at the court; and not only that; any of them could fuck him raw in the streets, without any rubber and still be protected by the law.

Daryl hated the fact that justice wouldn’t even blink an eye to protect people like him; he hated how unfair it was. He was poor, he didn’t even have anything to eat and though he used his body for work, he wasn’t hurting anyone. It was his choice after all, but he couldn’t risk being put into jail like Merle; he just couldn’t afford it, so he always let Shane and the other officers do whatever they felt like with his body.

Shane was quiet, just spreading kisses across Daryl’s face and soon, his lips, taking them softly against his own.  There was no doubt that the officer was in love with the escort and Daryl was pretty aware of that. It didn’t even matter how many times he’d told Shane that the officer couldn’t fall in love with him, because Shane would always come back for more.

Daryl wouldn’t complain about the sex; it was part of his job , but surprisingly, he really didn’t like to have that much sex on daily basis. What actually bothered him though was this obsession Shane had with him.  He was a person of his own and he couldn’t bear Shane being this possessive.

If he still had his crossbow by his side, he wouldn’t hesitate to put an arrow right in the officer’s head, but he couldn’t, so he just let Shane have his way with him. Minutes passed and when Daryl realized, Shane was already taking Daryl’s lips against his own once more.

“Wadda ya wan’ from me, Shane?”- Daryl asked, trying to catch his breath. He hated himself for enjoying kissing the officer, but he couldn’t help it, especially because Shane was the closest thing he had to stabilization in the past.

“Want ya all for me, Dan… All of you…Why don’t you wanna be mine?”- Shane whispered, pressing soft kisses upon the nape of the escort’s neck.

“ I ain’t like that, Shane… Don’t feel the same way ‘bout you. Trus’ me, I appreciate yer luv, but it ain’t for me? Don’t wantcha like that…”- Daryl explained, gently hissing to a bite on his neck.

“We could try. Tell me when I have ever forced myself on you. Tell me when I treated you bad?”- Shane now was looking straight into Daryl’s eyes.

Daryl just shook his head because the officer had a point.  Shane could be an asshole and way too persuasive sometimes, but if anything, the man always tried to respect Daryl’s limits.

Of course that there was one time when Shane wanted to fuck him unprotected and somehow convinced Daryl to partake it, but that was the only time he actually tried to persuade the escort.

Daryl couldn’t deny that the officer was a very skilled lover, not only in bed, but he was also a good man to have by his side, but Daryl didn’t want him like that. He craved a relationship, he craved someone by his side, but Shane wasn’t exactly that person he wanted and he really wasn’t willing to try with him anyway.

“ ‘m sorry, Shane.”- Were Daryl’s final words. He decided that the best he could do was keeping Shane kissing him until the hopefully got bored or something.

“Fine… But I want you to know that… I missed you so much Dan… So fucking much… “- Shane definitely changed the subject, obviously in trance.

Daryl licked his lips, finally realizing what the officer was doing when Shane turned the escort’s neck to the side and huffed in annoyance. Shane noticed a very small love mark on Daryl’s shoulder and wasn’t particularly thrilled about it.

“What’s that?”- Shane was genuinely mad about the mark, because he didn’t even put his lips there on that morning.

“Uh? Watcha talkin’ ‘bout, Shane?”- Daryl knew exactly what the officer was talking about, but he definitely wasn’t in the mood to explain that either.

“Who is he? Who’s the guy  that kissed you there, huh? Are you cheating on me?”- Shane was furious.

“The fuck ya on ‘bout Shane? Leav’me ‘lone!  Ya know I’m a whore, what else did ya expect a’ me?” -  Daryl was confused because he thought they were already passed on the ‘boyfriend’ thing.

“What I told you about the clients? I told you to leave this life behind! Told you I could take care of you! I offered you my own house! What else do you want from me?” - Shane yelled.

“Jus’ want ya ta leav’ me ‘lone.  We ain’t no thing, Shane! Stop tryin’ ta hurt me, I ain’t yer goddamn toy!” - Daryl wanted to punch the officer in the face so hard, but instead,  Daryl just fixed his jacket and flew far away from the officer.

It seemed that something finally awoke in Shane, because he didn’t actually run to catch the escort nor even to try and argue with him again. He knew that Daryl was right, he couldn’t force people to actually like him, but that mark made him furious. He wanted to know who was the person biting Daniel’s neck, he wanted to know who was doing what the escort barely let him do as a client.

Meanwhile, Daryl kept running until he found an old bar near the sidewalk he was at. Without thinking two times, he entered into the place and sat at the bar. He quickly asked for a bear and tried to relax, just hoping no one he knew came to interrupt him. At that moment, he just wanted to be alone with his own thoughts and maybe later, he could even be able to go and buy the crossbow he’s been wanting for a long time now.

Sometimes he wondered if he would ever have someone for himself.  The escort life was partially good when he actually had paying clients, but he definitely craved more. What if no one ever wanted to be with him on a more serious way?

In the back of his mind, all he could do was listening to his brother’s voice saying ‘don’t be a pussy,Darleena. Dixons need no one but each other.’ And though it was something cruel, it made him feel stronger. He sorely missed his brother, especially when he was alone.

Everything was too quiet, when suddenly, someone sat straight near Daryl. He didn’t pay much attention first until the man actually turned to his side.

“Hey… Can I offer you a beer?”- The man asked nicely.

“Nah… ‘m good… Oh?”- Daryl turned to see whoever was that and it was one of his few old friends.

“What’s up, Daryl? How’s everything going?”- The man asked before taking a sip in his own beer.

“Same old. How’s life, Glenn?”-Daryl  smiled, enjoying another sip of the cold liquid.

“ Great, actually. Me and Maggie are getting engaged! I swear she’ll kill me before we even get to sign the papers.”- Glenn rolled his eyes, but he was just mocking, he loved the girl.

“Cool, man. Thas’ cool.”- Daryl noddede with a small smil, taking another sip in his cup.

“How about you? How’s my friend’s love life? Any cutie around?”- The Korean boy teased.

“Nah… No one… Jus… Ya know… Clients and stuff…” Daryl blushed; he really wanted to have better news to give.

Glenn’s mouth opens into a little ‘o’, realizing that nothing actually changed for him. Daryl was glad for the Korean coming to his life before. Glenn was the owner of one of the best bakeries from their town and just when Daryl was almost freezing to death in the streets, starving and wearing only a poncho, the Korean made sure to tuck him in and feed him with the best food from his bakery.

The escort would be eternally grateful for Glenn and Maggie finding him in the streets after such a bad night, back when his clients didn’t want to pay him enough and would rather beat the shit out of him instead of actually helping him out.

“Come on, Daryl. What about that cop, what was his name? Shane or something?”- Glenn did know the officer, though the man barely went to his bakery.

“He crazy ‘bout me, ya know? But I ain’t like that, I don’ like him that way. There’s this person tho, new guy…”- Daryl immediately blushed only with the thought.

“Oh? Tell me about this new person of yours.”- Glenn was genuinely curious about it.

“He nice as fuck… Good fuck too… He ain’t like mah other clients, ya know? He’s differen’ and treats me nice. Divorced, but I know better than tryin’ out, he totally out of mah league…”- Daryl sighed with the cup in his hands. If only he had the chance.

“Dude! That’s your chance! Why don’t you call him for a coffee or something? I don’t know how the whole dating thing works for you guys”- Immediately Glenn kicked himself mentally because that was a definitely a stereotype. “I mean, I don’t know how you would deal with your clients and the boyfriend thing.”

“Relax, pal. We ask ourselves the same thing. Guess I need ta try first . This john’s loaded, don’t think I would’ve ta open mah legs ever ‘gain, but I don’t want ta stop. I like mah clients…”- Daryl confessed with a serious blush.

“Yeah, must be nice being able to have sex all night… I mean, at least for me that sounds pretty awesome.” - Glenn considered.

“Sometimes s’ great,  sometimes not.  I ain’t a very sexual person.”- Daryl closed his eyes after a chuckle from Glenn. -“I swear. Sex ain’t much mah thing, but it’s work. Y’all have bad days too jus’ like us.”

“Yeah, guess you’re right."- Glenn smiled. "Anyways, I have to go now, Maggie and I are going to the movies. Wanna come?”- The younger man offered.

“Mmm, I’ll pass this time, bro, thanks. Gonna buy some stuff now.”- Daryl smiled, offering his hand for a shake.

“See you around then, Take care!”- Glenn blinked, before leaving the bar.

When Daryl was about to go out, his phone started ringing and he felt his heart skipping a beat over the name.

“D-Daniel? Am I interrupting you or something?”-Rick stuttered with his voice soft. He’d just emptied a full bottle of wine.

“Nah, ‘m free. You a lil’ better?”- Daryl asked, biting his lips. He was glad that Rick couldn’t see his face at the moment.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, I’m definitely used to her crashing like this. So… I was wondering if we could meet somewhere?”- Rick tried to not sound as thirsty for the escort’s attention.

“Mmm, sure. ya mean that motel ya talked ‘bout?”- Daryl had to admit that the idea of having sex with Rick sounded nice, but he definitely wasn’t in the mood

“Oh no, sorry, that’s not what I meant. I was wondering if you wanna go out for a coffee or something?  Maybe we could continue our conversation about your life?” - Rick wasn’t in the mood for sex anymore and in the back of his head, he felt quite embarrassed for Daryl thinking he was like that.

“Cool, thas cool Rick. I’m game. Are ya catching me somewhere or…?”- Daryl definitely could use a ride, especially because it was nice traveling along his john; he loved classic rock too, so it was always a nice trip.

“I’ll catch you. Just tell me. I’m heading to my car now. Where are you?”- Rick asked, fumbling in his hands to grab his key.

“The bar next to the police station. Will be waiting for ya outside.”- With that, Daryl didn’t wait for a reply before hanging out; his cheeks burning hot.

He couldn’t wait to see those beautiful blue eyes again and suddenly, he realized that for the first time in his life, he actually felt like life was worth living, if only he got to see a smile on the photographer's lips.

**To be continued…**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for making you guys wait! Wait for rickyl getting to know each other a little more on the next chapter.


	5. Sing your song, song, now, the camera's on

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A talk, an offer and a realization. Who knew that a stop at a coffee shop could be so productive, in many, many ways....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Homophobia , Homophobic language and physical abuse

Rick felt a little better when he met the brunette for lunch on that same day. At least he was sure that a cup of hot tea and some pie would definitely help to calm his nerves.

He knew that there was something special about that man and he definitely wanted to know more about him. His heart was pounding fast and he couldn’t wait to see those beautiful blue eyes. Once he’d arrived next to the known alley, he found Daryl leaning his back against the wall with a cigarette in his mouth. The escort slightly smiled and moved to the car.

Rick didn’t know why, but he really wanted to hug the guy in his front very tightly, but he definitely held back, just to giving some small taps on the escort’s his shoulder. He was punishing himself mentally, because no longer was a teenager with his first crush.

“I’m sorry again… About what happened today. I promise you she won’t be bothering us again anytime soon.”- The photographer blushed.  He really felt embarrassed about the whole thing.

“Nah, it’s all right, Rick. Not enough ta scare me away.”- Even though Daryl hated to smile, he felt like it was so natural to happen whenever he was next to Rick that he decided to give in, smiling shyly with his face turned to the floor.

“Good to know.”- Rick bit his lips as he tuned in the radio. “There’s a nice coffee shop near, called ‘Flavor Palour.’ - He smiled when the escort laughed over the name.” I know, I know the name sounds fancy, but I swear the place is great.’

“I trust ya...Sound fancy anyway….”- Daryl joked, something he almost couldn’t remember to do in such a long time.

“What can I say? I’m a fancy guy either way.”-Rick chuckled and for a moment he brushed his hand upon Daryl’s one, but quickly he retreats it to the steering wheel, where it belonged.

The trip to the coffee shop was not as quiet as their ride during their first encounter. Daryl was a little more talkative now and Rick was still the same, except for the fact that sitting next to the escort now felt more than natural. He enjoyed the man’s presence and slowly, very slowly, he knew that the guy was growing in him.

As soon as they arrived to the coffee shop, Rick stopped his car next to the front door and leaded Daryl inside. The environment was definitely cozy, quite like a British tea house, with nice wooden chairs, tables covered with thin blue sheets, both outside and inside the establishment and a very nice and inviting main balcony, covered with small pastries and pies with every single flavor one could imagine.

Daryl had to hold his chuckle because the place was definitely the fanciest coffee shop he’d ever been on. Not that it was a bad thing though, he enjoyed finding new places, but he couldn’t help but imagine what his brother would say about the place. Probably he would mutter something like ‘wha’ kind of pansy fruity bullshit is that?’. Yeah, Daryl missed his brother sorely.

With this thought in mind, Daryl simply nodded when Rick asked if he would rather sit outside because it was a sunny day. Both of them sat at a table outside, right next to a small cherry tree.  The warm colors and overstuffed furnishings where a sensorial bliss for Daryl, as an artist. He figured that if he was actually an artist as he always wanted to be, this type of place would be his favorite stop if he ever needed to find some inspiration.

Rick was just observing him with interest; his unshaved chin resting against his knuckle.  He wondered what was going on at the escort’s mind and he couldn’t wait to discover him, layer by layer, until he reached that essence that made every single person unique. Daniel was something that he couldn't wait to figure out.

“Ya like what ya see? Take a picture, it lasts longer”- Daryl smiled even though he felt very uncomfortable with people staring at him.

 “Haha, I definitely intend to.”- Rick smiled, his blue eyes staring right into Daryl’s soul. “Do you want to order something?”

Daryl didn’t reply right away, choosing only to nod instead. He didn’t want to sound like he was begging for food or something like that. Thankfully, Rick got the message very quickly, picking the menu in his hands and reading everything out loud so Daryl could pick something of his interest.

“Coffee. Jus’ black, no sugar.”- The escort tried as he chewed the top of his thumb.

“Good choice. I think I’ll go with a spearmint tea and a piece of meat pie. Do you want anything to eat?”

“M' havin’ what ya havin’.”- Daryl nodded, still biting the tip of his finger. H was so distracted that he didn’t even see Rick pulling his camera up and setting it on his mini tripod over the table.

“Do you mind if I film our conversation?”- Rick made sure that the man was consenting to all of this.

“Nah, I don’ mind, Rick…”- Daryl assured, finally stopping to bit his thumb and fixing his posture on the table. He wanted to give Rick a nice impression.

“Do you mind if we start our conversation then? If there’s anything you don’t wanna talk about, just give me a sign, all right? If it makes you feel more comfortable, you can also ask me things too.”

“Fine.”- Daryl nodded as he started to play with his own napkin.

“Well, first things first, Daniel. I’m don’t want to sound intrusive , but I’m very curious about your tooth. What actually happened?”

Daryl remained quiet, just thinking about a good answer. For a moment,  he totally forgot what the meeting was about, but since it was Rick, he didn’t feel as self-conscious to talk about the subject at all. Of course he was ashamed, because he hated the fact that one of his teeth was lacking, but he was sure that the photographer meant no harm. 

“Mm… Got into a fight with my ol’ neighbor.”- The escort started, clearing his throat. “Fucker was accusing my pa of stealing his farm’s produce.”

“So, you used to live in a farm?”- Rick inquired; his chin comfortable in over hand.

“Ain’t got no money for no farm, Rick. We use’ ta live in a small cabin, next ta Georgia’s mountains.  Our side neighbor use’ ta plant his own produce and a few thieves robbed him every single night. Mr. Jack had a beef with my pa already, so one day he just went and accused him.”

“Oh? So he went to your house just to accuse your father?”- Rick nodded.

“Nah. Fucker came ta my house so he could beat da shit out of my pa, but I tried ta protect my old man anyway and all I got was a punch from Mr.Jack and a broken tooth.”

“I’m sorry about that.”- Rick said, whispering a small thank you to the barista who'd just brought their orders to the table.

“It don’t matter anymore, now that both him and my old man have gone flying .”- Daryl concluded, taking a sip of his coffee.

“You talked about your small house next to the mountains. What made you leave and come to the big city?” - The photographer asked, while taking a spoonful of his pie.

“After my pa was gone and my big brother was put away, I had ta get outta there. My house was burned down. M’ family had debts to big names, so 's not like I coulda save my place. Had ta run away and come ta the big city. Here, I knew better opportunities would come, ya know?”- He said, savoring the piece of pie in his plate. He felt like he was having an orgasm after proving such a delicious dish. Not even his grandma's pie tasted this good. 

“I can only imagine what’s like.”- Rick said, taking another bite on his pie.

“What ‘bout you, Rick? What your story?” - Daryl asked with a blush. He didn’t wanted to sound bossy.

“Well, my family wasn’t loaded per se, but we had a comfortable life. I didn’t have everything I wanted, but that was just me being spoiled. I studied a lot and for a moment in my life, I actually thought ‘bout being a cop.”- Rick smiled to the escort that listened very carefully to him.

“Thas’ cool. Wish I couldda study when I was younger. Guess life turned itself upside down for me..”- Daryl smiled sadly. In his age, he  waas sure  he would already have a diploma and definitely would be finishing his majors in art, if he ever got a chance. 

“Talking about life, if it’s not too personal, are you gay, straight, bi or what?”- Rick blurted. He was genuinely curious, because he never knew with escorts.

“Well… I always liked boys. Only grew up with ‘em and never felt interested ‘bout dem girls. For a moment I was in da closet, but as soon as my old man was gone and my brother in jail, I didn’t feel the need ta lie ta myself no more.”

“In which moment you discovered your love for the boys?” Rick asked, taking a sip of his tea.

“Mmm… Early. There was this boy, Billy Ray. He was the cutest boy ta ever step on this planet…”- Daryl blushed. “We were ten when I knew somethin’ was wrong with me.”

“What exactly was wrong with you?”- Rick now looked straight into the man’s eyes.

“I always knew I was a fag. My pa always told me that, but he didn’t know I really was. Guess I  knew I was one of dem queers when I masturbated after huntin’ with Billy.”

“W-wait a minute. Are you telling me that you used to hunt with only 10 years old?”- Rick was shocked. He would never let Carl do something like that.

“s’normal for us. We hunted all day long but when I got home, I felt somethin’ funny inside , ya know? Rubbed my first one off that night… One of the worst nights of mah life…”  Daryl bit his lips; they were reaching a dangerous territory now.

“Worst? Because you didn’t know what you were doing?”- The photographer was genuinely confused.

“Nah…”- Daryl smiled with irony. “It was the worst day ‘cause mah pa beat the shit outta me on that night. He heard me touchin’ myself and whispering Billy’s name. Worst beating I’ve ever had. Mah old man was yellin’ at me, kicking me, punching me, saying he would beat the fag outta me.”

“I… That’s awful, Daniel. I’m so sorry about this.  If you don’t want to talk about this anymore, we’re definitely stopping.”- Rick asked, sadness clear into his deep blues.

“Don’ be sorry. Mah old man s’ dead now, s’ not like his piece of shit opinions matter to me. You can ask me anythin’, Rick.”- Daryl reassured. in the beginning of their meeting, he thought that talking about his past would be awful, but it wasn’t as bad, especially since the listener was just a stranger.

“Well, so you told me that you ran away because of the fire? When did it happened and how you ended up here, in the big city? Do you miss your home?”

“It all happened when I was 16.  My brother was put away, my ma and my pa were gone. Had no one out there for me anymore. So I ran away. Caught mah bike, mah crossbow and drove all night. Stopped from city to city, but my handwork wasn’t enough to put food on my table.”

“It must have been awful to go from city to city. How did you do with the gas?”- Rick asked, taking another sip of his tea.

“Yah… Money was short and one day, my gas was all gone. Sold mah crossbow ta pay for more gas, but it wasn’t 'nough and soon I was only on my two feet, with nothing but my body’s clothing and a bag with a few rags of mine. They weren’t even clothes at all.”

“I can only imagine what it is to pass by something like that. It must've beeen really hard back in the days.”- Rick commented in shock; voice in a whisper. 

“The hardes’ part is missin’ home. I miss fishin’, I miss huntin’, miss my brother, the mountains. There ain’t a day I don’t go thinking ‘bout my old place”. - There was a bitter taste in Daryl's mouth. He never thought that he would miss the life that once he hated so much. 

“Yeah… I miss my old place too. I mean, not in the way you miss yours, but it’s just a feeling. I wonder what my life would be if I have stayed in my hometown…”- Rick commented, because he knew that Daryl was uncomfortable about talking too much.”

“Ta finish mah story, guess ya already know where this it is going, dontcha?”- Daryl concluded.

“Yeah…”- Rick definitely had to agree. That was the reason he wanted to record it in the first place. 

“I walked every single day, never restin’ in the road, walkin’ and walkin’ until mah feet couldn’t take it anymore. When I was ‘bout ta faint, a hauler took me in da middle of road. I thought he just wanted ta help, but he definitely wanted somethin’ more..”

“Don’t tell me he…?”- Rick couldn’t feel shittier for complaining about his own life. Clearly their experiences were far different.

“Nah… He didn’t force me ta do anything. He offered his hand and I took it. When ya have nothing else ta lose, ya have ta swallow yer pride, ya know? I sucked the dude off and let him fuck me in da back of his truck. It was mah first time with a man, but I liked it. I felt dirty , even, ‘cause I liked it.”

“Are you telling me that you actually enjoyed having sex with a stranger?” -Now Rick was definitely confused, because he was expecting for the typical story of  the poor victim who had to rely on sex work to survive. 

“Nah, mah thing as a hooker isn’t a sob story. Dude was nice and at leas’ he prepped me. I knew I was queer so I was willing ta have mah first time there. It was good, dude fucked me good and paid me an extra after I let him come inside.”

“So you don’t feel sorry about joining the lifestyle? Wheren’t you scared at all?”- Rick was genuinely curious.

“Nah, don’t feel sorry and not even afraid at all.  As my pa used ta say that ‘Dixons ain’t pussies’. I know when someone’s bad and most of the time, I got it right. From all my experiences, only few were actually bad, but most of time, I was one of dem luckiest queer rednecks out there. I never saw myself as a victim.” - Daryl smiled. 

“That’s actually interesting because I thought… I mean, society taught me that all sex workers were walking tragic stories.” - The photographer confessed.

“Jus’ bullshit media's trying ta sell y’all. Some sex workers enjoy their lifestyle and believe me, some even dropped everything to live the night life. Most escorts I know, male or female, are okay with this. But it doesn’t change the fact that we also wanna stop the human trafficking.”

“Wait. Isn’t prostitution and sex slavery the same thing?”- Rick knew that both weren’t the same, but he wanted to record every single word from the man in his front.

“Silly photographer…”- Daryl chuckled. “They ain’t nothing alike. Some of us need ta eat so we come ta this life and some just chose it, like me, but sex slaves are not given this option. They all get abducted, lied on and taken away from their homes. We as sex workers have to keep united and protect people from sex slavery.”

“Oh wow…  I think it's very clear for me now…”- Rick definitely learned more than he thought he would on that day and he couldn’t be happier. Daryl wasn’t the first sex worker to tell him this, but listening it from the man’s mouth was only reassuring. 

“Mm…  m' sorry for sounding political…” - Daryl turned his head to the floor again, just so he could hide his blush. He didn’t want to annoy the photographer with all his babbling. He didn't tell the whole story though, because he still didn't feel safe enough to touch in some parts. Maybe one day he would tell him everything, but not now.

“It’s okay, Daryl, it’s totally okay. You were great today…”- Rick assured him, reaching a hand forward so he could caress Daryl’s one.

Daryl literally felt in heaven with the other man. No one ever were this gentle with him, no one ever wanted to hear his side of the story and sitting there with that man who was genuinely kind and gentle made his heart beat fast.

He never let himself talk about his own life with his other clients, but with Rick, everything was different. Daryl didn’t think he had to pretend in front of him, he didn’t feel the need to wear a mask and something in the back of his head was saying that it was the same for the other man too.

“Wish I could’ve met ya in another life…”- Daryl whispered. In a perfect world, maybe they could date and maybe they could be an artistic couple, but unfortunately life wasn’t  always kind or fair to him. It's like the universe decided to make him its personal punching bag. 

“You know what? I wish I could meet you right now. I wouldn’t change a thing. I now it’s selfish, but… I liked our first meeting, the second one and this one too. You are one of the most fascinating people I’ve ever had the honor of meeting, Daniel.”

“Daryl…”- For a moment, Daryl wanted to punch himself in the face, but now it was too late, his secret was completely gone.

“Excuse me?”- Rick’s eyebrow lifted in confusion.

“Mah real name's Daryl.”- Daryl blushed way harder than he intended to, especially when he felt his hand gently being pulled to the front.

“On that case, it’s a pleasure, Daryl.”- Rick said with a smile, gently lifting Daryl’s hand to his lips and pressing a soft kiss over it.

They remained silent for a while after that, just finishing their own plates. Once they are done, Daryl gained a little more confidence, asking if he could have piece of the apparently delicious chocolate cake he saw at the balcony. Rick told him that he could’ve whatever he wanted and asked for two pieces for the waitress.

“Mmm..So Rick… I was wonderin’ if ya... Would ya go hunt with me with this weeken’? Gonna buy a new crossbow and I thought, ya know, maybe… 'Could teach ya a few tricks and... Ya know...”- Daryl sucked at flirting and he knew it, but he could definitely try.

“Wait a minute, that's great, but I have a better idea. Last month I’ve bought a cabin in the woods, next to the road and sometimes I enjoy spending my time there just editing my photography materials. What if we spend the weekend there? I’m sure you’ll find plenty of places to hunt around there, but I have to say in advance that I suck at hunting. Never caught a crossbow in my life actually.”- Rick offered, not even noticing how fast his heart was beating.

Daryl didn’t reply, but nodded with a genuine smile. If he could, he would kiss the man’s mouth right then and there, but as usual, he just held himself back. He was certain that it was going to be a weekend he would remember for ages.

**To be continued…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh *3* I hope you guys liked this chapter!! Sorry about my late again, the finals are kicking my ass. See you on the next chapter with some fun at the Cabin in the Woods ( lol, yes pun intended, I love that movie)


	6. And you're alive again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? - it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.”  
> ― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: unsafe sex and creampie
> 
> Remember to always have sex with protection, folks! This is just a fanfic, all right? Safe sex is always the best choice!

It was a sunny morning in Atlanta when Rick organized his clothes and acessories. He stood in his room, with the suitcase on his bed , just checking everything to ensure that he’d got everything he needed before getting to the road.

Daryl was there too, but unlike the photographer, all he had in his hands was a fabric bag with a few rags and some new clothes he’d bought after the extra money Rick gave him. Once everything was set, they took the bag and the suitcase to the car and then headed to the streets.

Rick had to stop by a small grocery store first because it’s been a while since the last time he went for his cabin and he was almost sure that he barely had stuff to eat around there, so he made sure of buying as much food, water and junk foods he could.

Of course Daryl just rolled his eyes, commenting that they didn’t need to have all of that and that he was so used to hunt in the woods that they woudln't need to spend money, but Rick insisted that he wanted to be comfortable, so in the end Daryl kind of gave in, after all, he as the guest. 

Their last stop after the grocery store was at Lori’s apartment, because today was Rick’s day with the kids, but thankfully he warned his ex-wife about his little road trip and surprisingly, she wasn’t as mad as before, but she told him that he should at least have the decency of passing by her apartment so he could give  his son a hug.

Carl had grown up so much that he barely looked like the little boy who loved to spend time watching the Backyardigans with his dad. It seemed like it was yesterday, but now, the boy was tall, his hair was growing fast and his voice was changing. That was the first time Rick actually felt his own age weighting on his shoulders. 

As soon as the boy saw his father standing at the door, Carl didn’t hesitate before running to embrace his arms around his father’s waist, hugging him tight.

“Dad!!”- The boy cheered, hiding his face on his father’s chest.

“Hey Carl… Are you going to be all right this weekend?”- Rick asked, pressing a gentle kiss upon his kid’s hair.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I know you work a lot dad.  Oh… Who’s that one?”- Carl asked curiously as soon as he glanced to the figure sitting at the passenger’s seat.

“He’s daddy’s friend. You can say that we… We work together in my studio. He’s going to help me with some stuff this weekend.”- Rick tried; if anything, he wasn’t prepared to say anything about Daryl yet.

“Cool.”- The boy nodded. “Have fun then! Take care, all right?”- Carl said, hugging his old man once more before waving goodbye and closing the door behind him.

Rick sighed, combing his hair back and returning to his car with a smile. Daryl was smiling too, even though he was shrugged like a wild cat that was afraid of getting next to humans.

“Boy’s tall…”- Daryl commented timidly, still looking at his own feet.

“Yeah… He’s growing up so fast. One of the coolest kids out there, I can assure you.”- Rick smiled once more, before dressing his shades and tuning the radio in. He couldn’t wait until they finally got to the road.

The trip was as relaxing as Rick thought it would be. If had been months since the last time he did something like that and it was definitely refreshing. Daryl felt the same way, but he would give everything in the world to be driving his bike, feeling the air hitting his face while he rode free like a wild bird.

His next goal was definitely gather money enough so he could buy himself a new bike; he had to count his clients and see how many he could serve before having enough money. For a moment he thought about all of them, but he decided to shut it down for a while; he didn’t want to think about work while he could enjoy his time in the presence of the beautiful photographer.

They took around two hours until they finally got to Rick’s property into the woods.  When they finally parked, the sun was still high in the sky. Rick just gave a quick glance on his watch, noticing that it was still ten in the morning, which meant they had a lot of free time to explore the surroundings yet.

Daryl just spat on the grass and fixed his jeans before grabbing his bag. It’s been a while since he got into the woods by himself, but somehow, the fresh air and the tall trees made him feel home.  When he was still a kid, the woods always embraced him and protected him from everything that was bad in the word.

Returning to the outdoors was somehow relieving for him. He couldn’t wait to test his new crossbow, run around looking for squirrels and wild berries. Daryl almost laughed just with the thought of Rick trying to catch up with him during the hunting.

As soon as they got to the main cabin, Daryl couldn’t help but whistle in awe.  The place was huge, bigger than the Dixon’s property before it was gone with the flames. There was a nice fireplace, a dinner table and a huge television right in front of a couch that looked more like a bed; it almost took over the whole living room. That was probably Rick’s bed when he used to spend time there alone.

The kitchen wasn’t as bad either, with a modern stove and another table with a few wooden chairs. Daryl couldn’t help but notice the huge painting hanging on the wall, definitely one of his favorite works.

“Mondrian?”- Daryl tried timidly as he placed all his baggage on the couch.

For a minute Rick was astonished. -“You know this painting?”- He was genuinely curious.

“Yah… Problem?”- The escort tried to not sound as offended. -“ I’m an art fan, ya know? Also, before all of this, I always wanted ta be an artist…”

“Really? Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend! That’s actually great. I love Mondrian’s work.”- Rick quickly tried to fix the situation.

“Don’ worry, Rick. Love his work too, love his Neo-plasticism  n’ choice of colors…”- Daryl commented, pointing to the art.

“Me too. But hey Daryl, that’s actually great! I do want to talk more about art with you!”- For the first time in his life, Rick actually had someone to discuss about paintings. Lori always hated when he started to gush over art.

“Totes.”- Daryl blushed before taking a few clothes in his hands.

“Well, what do you wanna do first? I’m thinking about taking a nice shower and then going for a walk into the woods, what do you think?”- Rick tried. He definitely wouldn’t mention the fact that he would love Daryl to join him for a bath.

“Need a shower too…”- Daryl said, biting the tip of his thumb.

“That’s your thing, isn’t it?”- Rick chuckled, pointing to Daryl’s hands.

“What?”- Daryl asked genuinely curious.

“You bite your finger when you’re nervous. Sorry, couldn’t help but notice.”- Rick smiled. “No need to be scared, Daryl. You’re safe here.”

“Ain’t scared.”- Daryl retorted, but deep inside he was glad about what the photographer said. He couldn’t feel safer next to the man in his front.

“Yeah… So… You can take a shower first. I’m going to clean the kitchen and put our food in the refrigerator.”- Rick announced, already opening the packages.

Daryl nodded, grabbing his clothes and a towel Rick gave him before heading to the bathroom that was right next to the kitchen.  Once he stepped inside, he finally felt safe enough to take all of his clothes, including his top piece.  The scars didn’t hurt for a long time now, but that didn’t’ mean they were forgotten. 

He remembered everything.  His first beating, his first love, though it had never turned into something real and most of all, his brother. He always wondered what his brother would be doing at the moment. If he wasn’t missing from the jail, he would probably be in the streets, drinking, getting high or banging some bone of a streetwalker.

He wondered what Merle would say about his choices; what would he say if he found out his little brother was out there, opening his legs to whoever paid enough. Merle was too much like his father, unfortunately, but he always told Daryl that Dixons had to do what they gotta do to survive.

The escort was so distracted with the relaxing water falling above his head that he didn’t even hear the knocking. Even when he did, he didn't move a muscle. 

“Daryl? Can I come in?”- Rick asked with a gentle voice, not trying to scare him or anything like that.

“Sure.”- Daryl said; glad to be covered by a thick layer of soap’s foam.

“Do you mind if I join you? Hot water is kind of a luxury here in the woods…”- Rick said tentatively, already naked, with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

Daryl shook his head, but smiled anyway. “Ya just wanted n’ excuse ta see me naked, Mr. friendly.”- He mocked.

“Well, I can’t say that isn’t one of the reasons, but yeah, I’m serious. Let me use the hot water now.”- Rick said, already joining the escort in the bath.

They remained quiet for a while, Daryl using the faucet to clean the remains of soap off his body while Rick soaped himself up and turned his back to the other man, feeling the soothing hot water make a nice massage on his back.

“Ain’t nothing like a good shower, right, Rick?”- Daryl smiled like a deviant cat before getting out and wrapping himself in a towel.

“Damn right…”- Rick agreed, washing the soap away and getting out of the box just so he could wrap himself into his comfy bathrobe.

After both of them were clean and properly dressed, they had a quick breakfast together and prepared their weapons before heading to the forest.

Biting his bottom lip, Daryl forced himself to concentrate on the tracks the deer had left.  He was trying to stay focused, but Rick wasn’t quiet enough to not be noticed. For trained ears like Daryl’s, Rick’s steps were like the ones from an elephant stepping on broken twigs.

“Shh…Would ya be a lil’ more quiet? Ya scaring my game!”- Daryl complained, making a ‘slow down’ hand gesture to his companion.

They were very close to the animal now and it seemed like Rick didn’t exist at all; It was just Daryl and his prey, one looking right into each other’s eyes, studying themselves for a while.

When Rick just thought that the escort was about to shoot one of his bolts, Daryl did nothing. He simply left his crossbow behind and tried to approach the creature, very slowly.

For a minute, the deer hesitated, giving a few steps back, but Daryl didn’t even flinch. He just kept walking forward, with knees bent and arms open.  He gave the creature a few more minutes before approaching even more, touching its soft fur.

The animal wasn’t afraid anymore. It just remained quiet as Daryl gently caressed their fur, whispering gentle praises as if the deer was a pet or something like that.

“I thought you would…”- Rick was definitely confused. He thought that hunting meant shooting.

“Don’t need ta shoot this poor guy. W’all have plenty of food, no need ta hunt for meat. When I used ta hunt, it was ‘bout survival. Now, no more.”- Daryl clarified with a smile, hugging the animal before giving a few steps back.

“I see. That’s actually great, for a moment I really thought you would kill the thing. Felt kind of bad.”-  Rick admitted, pulling his gun down.

“Come on, let’s find some berries!-“ - Daryl smiled, making a sign so they could move on.

Rick wasn’t as close to Daryl, but he really felt the difference of attitude. While in the woods, Daryl seemed more focused, more relaxed and kinder with his words, as if the woods were a piece of paradise that he could never get enough of.

They walked for hours, looking for small fruits and wild berries. Rick almost choked when he discovered that one of the berries he was trying to eat was actually poisonous. Daryl almost fell on the floor laughing, but quickly grabbed some greens that were a good antidote for the poison.

Rick and Daryl found a cave with a family of bats hanging on the roof and a beautiful blue lake with waters as blue as Rick’s eyes, however the water was so cold that they decided to look up for a lake outside; at least it was still sunny out there.

After walking for a few more minutes, both found a nice lake with clear water; so clear that they could see the fishes swimming around and the wild life just living. They took their boots off and rested their feet in the water, just to relax while Rick prepared their fishing poles.

He admitted that he wasn’t a skilled hunter like Daryl, but if anything, his father had taught him the art of fishing pretty well and he was very proud of that. Rick decided that it was going to be nice having some roasted fish for dinner. 

They laughed, talked about millions of subjects and for a while, they didn’t talk about anything at all, just sitting together in complete silence, enjoying the nice breeze, the sound of the water flowing and each other’s company. 

Daryl would give everything just to live a peaceful life like this again. Of course, he hated his life in the past, but there were some things that were actually worth it. The woods, for example, were one of the perks of being born a redneck for him.  If he could, he would throw everything in the air and  just hide into the woods again.

Rick’s house was nice; he definitely wanted a place like that to call his own, or maybe, he could even share the place with the photographer. Just the thought of sharing his life with the older man made him blush furiously, but he pretended that everything was all right, just pulling his fish line a little more, a cigarette hanging on his mouth.

“Thas’ what I call livin’…”- Daryl sighed, head turned to the sky as his eyes remained closed for a while.

“Yeah… Sometimes I wish I could stop rushing, you know? And just run away to this place; live life to its fullest… It would be great…”- Rick smiled and it was bittersweet. If only he could leave his whole life behind, he would, but he couldn’t.

“Mmm…”- Daryl agreed, taking a lungful air before throwing his cigarette away, making sure it was unlit.

Once they both got fish enough for the two of them, they grabbed their materials and headed to the cabin, because it was getting darker and colder with time and neither of them wanted to risk and catch a cold or something like that. 

Gladly, there was some chopped wood from the last season there, so they could light the fire on that night.  After a few hours, Daryl dressed one of Rick’s robes and Rick dressed his own blue robe while cooking their dinner.

Something felt odd for Daryl, to be just like that, comfortably sat at the couch/bed, just jumping from channel to channel until he found something interesting that was worth watching. He wasn’t used to not having anything to do during the night.

Most of the time, around this hour, he would be preparing himself to spend the whole night in the streets, making some game and winning big time. Standing comfortable like this felt odd for him somehow, but there was nothing he could do but appreciate the calmness of that night.

“So… There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you…”- Rick started, breaking the ice as he prepared their dinner. They were going to have roasted salmon with potatoes and passion fruit’s sauce on that night.

“Shoot.”- Daryl nodded, keeping his eyes to the TV in his front.

“Do you have a boyfriend or something like that now? I know you told me that you identified yourself as a gay man, so I was just wondering…” Rick asked, light heartedly.

“Ya know… I had something close once, but dude was crazy. A client, ya know. One of those dudes that fall in love with ya and then become obsessed.” Daryl started.

“Yeah… Must have been hard.”- Rick swallowed, praying to not sound like one of those ‘dudes’.

“Nah… Sometimes s’ hard for me… Ya know, as an escort. Folks from our town know me well, so it's hard ta have someone that wanna have a serious thing with me…”- Daryl finished with a sight.

“That’s awful, Daryl. You know… For a long time, I’ve been faithful to only one person in my whole life. Lori was my first girl and my only, so I never got to know exactly what I liked. I don’t even know if I’m gay or bisexual. Never had the opportunity to try anything else.”- Rick admitted, switching the stove off.

“Maybe ya didn’t find the right one yet.  Ya know… It’s never too late ta find someone…”- Daryl knew exactly what he was doing and he hated himself for that.

“I guess you’re right.”- Rick smiled. He wasn’t the type of person who blushed. “Do you wanna have dinner here or on the couch?”

“Can we stay here? Movie’s good.”- Daryl said. The Goonies was on and it was a movie he never had a chance of watching as a kid. He actually just listened to what the other kids said in school.

“Whatever you want.”- Rick smiled, placing the food on the table so he could put some into his and some into Daryl’s plate before taking both with a tray towards the couch.

The food smelt delicious and tasted even better. Daryl could spend his life enjoying Rick’s food because he was one hell of a cook. Everything was prepared with so much love that it was impossible to not feel it with every single bite. They laughed together, eating and enjoying each other’s warmth; a thick comforter covering their legs.

Daryl felt just like a kid as he watched the Goonies. If only he had watched it before, he would know how much he identified as each one of the kids from the movie.

Once they are done, with bellies full and satisfied, Daryl offers himself to do the dishes while Rick relaxed at the couch.  As soon as he was done, he rushed to go to the couch again, covering his legs with the comforter and sighing happily.

Both were sitting together, but not as close as Rick wanted to. The couch was huge, so there was plenty of space for both of them to share. 

“Hey Daryl, come closer.”- Rick offered, opening space on his side and smiling as soon as the escort sat right next to him, resting his back on Rick’s shoulder.

It felt nice to be there, together, especially because it was a cold night and woods used to be icy, so they were glad for having each other side by side.  For a moment, Rick felt comfortable enough to gently stroke Daryl’s hair, enjoying its nice length and since the other man didn’t protest, Rick kept going with the caresses. 

“Feels nice…”- Daryl bit his lip, with eyes still turned to the tv.

Rick just nodded with a small smile and for a second, everything around him disappeared. He gathered all the courage he had and gently turned Daryl’s face to the side, slowly taking the brunette's lips between his.  He knew better than forcing people to kiss him, but he couldn’t help it, Daryl’s lips were so inviting that he just couldn’t hold himself back.

For a moment, he kept planting small pecks upon Daryl’s lips until he regained his conscience and stopped to kiss him, stepping back with his head.

“I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry. I shouldn’t… I wasn’t thinking…”-Rick tried to explain himself.

“Shut up…”- Daryl whispered, pulling Rick’s head back to its initial position so he could take the photographer’s lips between his once more.

Rick never felt this happy in his whole life, besides when he discovered that he was going to have a son, but this moment with Daryl, almost topped everything.  He just couldn’t resist Daryl anymore, the escort was too irresistible.

He’d fought it way too long, but he couldn’t lie to himself anymore. What he was feeling for Daryl was more than a simple infatuation, more than sexual and physical attraction; it transcended all of those simple concepts.

Daryl was quite aggressive first, like a wild cat too stubborn to be claimed, but with time, Rick realized that he just wanted someone to take care of him; to be gentle. He was nothing but receptive and sweet while Rick took his lips once more, their tongues tangling and their hands touching everywhere; from chests to thighs and hair.

Lust was all written into their eyes and just when Rick finally laid himself between Daryl’s thighs, the photographer gasped, tearing their lips apart. His chest was going up and down, his mouth gasping for air.

“Wait… Gonna get the lube and some rubber…”- Rick gasped, not resisting before attacking Daryl’s neck with his mouth, planting passionate kisses all around.

“Mmm..”- Daryl agreed, but he still wasn’t done. “Don’t need no rubber… You tested?”- He asked.

“Yeah… Actually, I tested myself this week…” - Rick assured, never stopping to attack his lover’s neck.

“Me too…”- The escort assured. He knew exactly what he wanted that night. He wanted to feel Rick as a whole and he didn’t want any barriers on their way this time.

That was everything Rick needed to listen before, with a lot of effort, leave Daryl’s neck and rise up from the couch.  He rushed to the bathroom, searching for his lube and once he found it, he ran back to the living room, just to witness an already bare Daryl lying on the couch.

Rick was glad for being naked under his bathrobe, taking it off and jumping to join the escort in his bed/couch. The makeout session began again as Rick leaned down to capture the hunters' lips against his, gently stroking Daryl’s stubbled skin with his thumb.

Soon, the photographer turned his head so he could kiss Daryl’s cheeks, peppering soft kisses down the side of his neck before sinking his teeth, ripping a loud moan from the escort’s lips.

This time, Rick wanted to do something different though. Instead of leaning so he could take Daryl’s erection between his skilled lips, he decided to lie down and lift Daryl’s butt a little so he could bury his head into his thighs, gently pushing his tongue out to lick a stripe from balls to ass, stopping right in the middle so he could eat Daryl out.

He was definitely more skilled than Daryl pegged him for; slurping and biting gently, before burying his whole face there, just licking the life out of the escort.

Rick loved how Daryl squirmed into his mouth, with little keens and soft moans that made the escort sound like nothing but an inexperienced virgin. For a moment, he pushed his tongue further; with his hands grasping on Daryl’s one tightly, as if he meant that he was never letting him go.

Nothing aroused Rick more than seeing his lovers falling apart beneath him, it was something he couldn’t even describe. After a few more minutes of giving head, Rick decided that Daryl was finally slick enough, but still, the photographer didn’t waste time before using more lube to open him up.

For a moment, everything around them seemed to disappear; the sound of the TV, the ticking of the clock; everything was gone as Rick was on his knees, stroking himself vigorously , never stopping to look right into Daryl’s eyes.

He was already hard, but for a man of his age, he just wanted to make sure he would last as long as possible and once he was hard enough, he didn’t waste time before lying between the escort’s thighs again, before gently pushing it in with the help of his hand.

Daryl’s entire body jerked and he gasped loudly with the contact, feeling Rick’s length invading his body in such a nice way that if he could, he  wanted to remain just like this, interlocked with the other, until the end of his life.

“Fuck…”- Rick gasped because without the condom, Daryl’s body felt even warmer on his cock. He briefly closed his eyes, giving a deep thrust.

Daryl licked his lips and for the second time on that night, he closed his eyes and gave himself the permission to only feel. Maybe Rick was a mind reader, because he finally started to move himself, to the front and to the back, slowly, into a sensual rhythm, never stopping to attack the escort’s neck with his lips.

“Mmm , oh god…”- Daryl’s cheeks colored lightly as he hid his face under his both arms, softly opening his legs up a little more.

Rick’s hands wandered around the escort’s body, leaving bruises and marks everywhere, following the rhythm of his thrusting. Their bodies remained moving back and forth; only a watery sound filling the cabin when Daryl decided to turn the situation, turning one of his legs to the side so he could kneel on the couch.

Now he was all on fours while Rick tried to adjust himself on his back, grabbing Daryl’s hair into his hand as if it was a leash, while pounding vigorously into him while his free hand was wrapped around Daryl’s waist.

“Dammit...”- Rick cursed, moaning even louder. He never had been so glad for being away from the civilization. That meant he could moan as hard as he wanted to.

Daryl was no different from him, moaning and keening with his head resting upon his hands, his ass up high and his body moving back and forth as his swollen tummy followed the movement. There was nothing he enjoyed more than being taken from behind.

Maybe it was the harshness or the crudeness of the act, but he loved being taken hard like this and thinking about taking Rick’s load only increased his arousal. He was sensitive everywhere, from the tip of his nipples from the nerves of his ass.

He gasped when Rick pulled his hair tighter into his hand, pushing his head to the back. Everything was too much and he was already leaking  precum like a faucet because Rick was hitting right there at the right spot, but even though he enjoyed a nice doggy style, he wanted to look right into Rick’s eyes while they both came, so he turned the situation on his favor once more. 

Carefully, so Rick couldn't pull out, he laid his body to the side, before sliding his leg up, until he finally could re-arrange their positions to the good old missionary.

Rick was so deep that he could feel almost as if his balls only needed a little push to be inside as well. Both looked into each other’s eyes like their lives depended on it and while at it, Rick whispered the filthiest things upon Daryl’s ears.

That was enough to make the escort moan even louder, almost crying, so loud that if they were in Rick’s apartment, that would be enough to startle the whole neighborhood. With a few more intense pushes, Rick felt himself contracting and in a matter of seconds he was coming non-stop inside the escort’s body.

Just like he wanted, Daryl came at the same time too, looking one more time into the photographer’s eyes before throwing his head, eyes rolling to the back. It didn’t take long until Rick actually started to attack the escort’s neck again with kisses and love bites.

They kept interlocked for a few minutes, just feeling each other’s raggedy breaths against each other’s chest.  Neither of them moved until Rick’s cock finally became soft, falling out by itself, with a flush of come flowing out right after. He didn't remember of coming this much ever in his whole life, not even with Lori. 

Rick had wanted to do that since their first night together, so he couldn’t be more satisfied. Both of them smiled with foreheads touching against each other. Both their chests going up and them, their bodies pepperd in sweat. 

“Wow…”- Rick commented, pressing a few kisses upon Daryl’s forehead before finally rolling to the side.

“Best fuck I’ve ever had…”- Daryl sighed, gently caressing his swollen belly. He definitely needed a cigarette, buy he was so sleepy that he decided to leave it for the morning after. 

“Same…”- Rick smiled, gently stroking Daryl’s face before pulling the cover over their bodies.

Now more than ever, he was sure of one thing: He was completely, helplessly, foolishly in love with the other man and he felt alive again, like he didn't feel for a long time now and it was one of the most rewarding things in the world.

**To be continued…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohh, steamy 8D See you guys on the next chapter! Prepare your hearts for some drama ahead...


	7. That's the little story of the boy you know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl feels like he's living a dream, a beautiful dream, but he's too afraid of waking up and losing the only thing that ever mattered to him.

Daryl woke up as soon as the first rays of the sun illuminated the thin blinds.  As a hunter, it was almost a rule for him to always wake up early and for a moment he really wanted to get out and take a nice walk, but Rick looked so peaceful into his arms that he didn’t want to leave him anytime soon.

The photographer snored softly, snuggling against Daryl’s chest and the escort had to refrain his laugh because Rick was definitely drooling.  As much as the brunette tried to remain quiet, as soon as he tried to shift his position, Rick started to move himself, so slow that if aryl didn’t know better, he would peg him as a baby sloth.

“Hmm..Hey… Morning…”- Rick whispered between his yawns.

“Morning.”- Daryl smiled. “Sorry I wake ya up.”

“No, it’s okay….”- Rick smiled in return, moving himself upwards so he could press a few pecks upon Daryl’s lips.

“Thanks for everything… Ya know, for invitin’ me.”- Daryl appreciated between their kisses.  He just wanted Rick to stop staring right into his mouth.

“Did you like what we did last night?”- Rick asked, changing his position so Daryl could rest upon his chest.

“Lot…”- Daryl blushed, hiding his face under his palms. “But I need ta tell ya something…”- He bit his lips nervously.

“Of course, Daryl. You know you can tell me anything, don’t you?”- The photographer reassured, gently caressing his lover’s face.

“Yah…”- He agreed.-“Ya know Rick, sex with ya is great, totally somethin’ else. But the thing  s’ that… m’ not a fan of having sex all time.”- Daryl confessed and for a minute he regretted saying it because he didn’t want to brush the other man away.

“Really?”- Rick sounded a little confused. “I thought you loved sex? I mean, you said you liked your clients and all that stuff…”

“I do, Rick, I do. But, ya know...I’d rather stay jus’ like this. Som’ clients didn’t even pay for sex, some paid me for my company and I liked that a lot.” - Daryl continued.

“Oh my god… I’m so sorry for forcing you, Daryl, if I knew before, I would… Dammit.” - Rick was more than ashamed. He never stopped to think of how Daryl really felt about their little affair.

“No, no, God, no Rick.”- Daryl interrupted shaking his head. He tried so hard to not fuck up this time, but once more, his mouth ran loose. “Thas’ not what I meant!  I was gonna say that I’m not a fan of having sex on daily baisis, but with ya is different, Rick. With ya s’ just special.”

The escort blushed hard because he was one of the worst flirts out there. He simply didn’t know how to act around people he loved, so he tended to run out of words whenever he was near them. All he wanted was bury his face into the couch and never leave there.

“I’m so sorry. I really don’t know what to say.”- Rick apologized once more, nuzzling Daryl’s hair.

“Ya can start by stopping ta apologize! Ain’t nothing ya done wrong, Rick. Ya treat me better than all my clients together, ya special for me… m’ serious.”- Daryl touched Rick’s face, caressing him softly before capturing his lips against his.

Rick didn’t even protest because that small gesture said it all. It’s been a long time since he had someone loving him this much and the best part was that he was in love too. He knew people would say that he was naïve and that he barely knew Daryl, but the truth was that in only a few weeks together with the man were enough for him to discover things about himself that even he didn’t know.

He felt like nothing but a teenage boy with his first crush, all over again. Daryl was special for him too and he was definitely willing to try some more. He enjoyed the sex indeed, but if anything, he wanted someone to share his life with; someone that was actually worth of his love and devotion, and for him, the brunette was all of that and even more.

“Wantcha…”- Daryl confessed in a soft whisper. He never wanted someone this much.

“You have me…”- Rick bit his own lip before pressing a last kiss upon Daryl’s hair and finally lifting himself so he could sit on the couch. 

 “Gonna make us some grub…. S’ only far after your hospitality…”- Daryl stretched his arms like a cat, yawning lazily.

“Can I take a few pictures? Little project of mine. I’ve been working with my new polaroid and I wanted to try something.”- Rick suggested, dancing his fingers around Daryl’s body.

“ Yah, ‘course, Rick. How do ya want me?”- Daryl smiled, finally getting up from the couch. For the first time in his life, he didn’t feel uncomfortable in being completely bare in front of a stranger.

“Just like that…”- Rick bit his lips, getting up as well so he could press his own body against Daryl’s behind, pressing gentle kisses on his neck.

“‘Kay… But no pictures of my back, ya hear me?”- Daryl didn’t want Rick staring at his back, neither he wanted pictures of the evidence of years of abuse he’d been through.

“I won’t. You can tell me if you’re uncomfortable with anything we’re doing, okay?”- Rick reassured him, pressing two kisses on Daryl’s shoulder blades.

“'kay…”- Daryl smiled softly, closing his eyes for a while before gently stepping forward, indicating that he wanted to go to the kitchen.

Rick nuzzled into his neck and finally let him go, running his fingers through his own hair before roaming his hands on the floor until he found his pair of sweatpants. Quickly he dressed them before turning the TV on and letting it on the music channel, heading to his equipment room so he could get started.

He could take a bath if he wanted, but not today. He wanted to wait Daryl for this, so he just grabbed his polaroid machine alongside with a bag so he could keep all of the pictures safe and then he returned to the living room, keeping everything he needed on the couch.

To the sound of Rolling’s Stones ‘Won’t stop’, one of Rick’s favorite from the band, he prepared his camera and followed to the kitchen, smiling at the sight of Daryl cooking some bacon, with a cigarette hanging on his mouth as he discretely moved his body into the tune.

Rick clicked nonstop, taking every picture and shaking them before displaying all on the dining room’s table. He leaned up a little so he could have a nice shot of Daryl’s butt , reaching his hand there so he could take a picture  grabbing it.

He made sure to catch every single detail, including Daryl flipping him off while smiling with the cigarette on his lips. For a minute Daryl concentrated into the pans, very skilled  as he  flipped the omelet, making it dance in the air. That was the perfect shot for Rick, who caught him right in the middle of the act.

“Skills!”- Rick laughed, being followed in his chuckles by a very blushing Daryl.

“Ain’t nobody out there better than me for doing dem good ol’ flips!”- Daryl commented proudly, even though he was still pretty much concentrated on what he was doing.

“I bet.”- Rick smiled, stealing a kiss from his lover. They day couldn’t get any better tha  this , he thought.

Breakfast is quiet, but enjoyable between the two of them. Rick loved his omelet with fried bacon, even though he wasn’t the type of person used to have the heavy stuff during breakfast.  Daryl probably grew up eating heavy meals at the mountains, if he ate anything at all besides squirrels and deer meat, Rick thought.

After  their meal, both worked together at the dishes and once they were re done, they headed to the bathroom for a nice bath. Daryl never took a bath with anyone before. On the day after, it was the first time he had another person joining him into the box, but now, like this, as lovers, it all felt pretty much different.

He wasn’t used to people being nice or sweet with him and having someone finally looking after him like this felt quite strange. He sighed happily as Rick joined him at the shower, pressing his body against Daryl’s back once more, embracing his arms around the brunette’s waist.

For a minute, Daryl gasped as Rick softly rubbed his cock along the curve of the escort’s ass, pressing kisses everywhere his mouth could reach. They remained quiet, just enjoying each other’s presence. Rick missed having someone to share his bath with, he missed someone to wrap his hands around and after all, he knew he was lonely.

After Lori he couldn’t feel lonelier in the world with no one to share his dreams and hopes with, but now with Daryl, he wasn’t alone anymore.  He knew that romantic love wasn’t everything that mattered in the world, but God, how much he missed having someone to call his. He didn’t even know if that was what Daryl actually wanted, but he was definitely willing to try.

He wasn’t aware of that, but little did he know that Daryl was thinking about the same thing. Daryl was born to be free like a wild creature, but he was so willing to have someone by his side. He knew love wouldn’t change him because he wasn’t the type of person who would change in the name of love, but having someone to come back home to was one of his biggest dreams.

After spending almost half an hour at the shower, both finally got out from the bathroom; Rick dressing his regular pair of sweatpants and Daryl dressing nothing at all. Rick wanted him naked for the next series of shoots, so he gave in because it wasn’t like someone would sneak into a private property and see him like that.

Rick gave Daryl a pair of flip flops and followed him outside, smiling as the hunter ran to the lake of clear water next to the porch. There, at the little grass growing around the water, he saw a beautiful white flower, the good old Cherokee Rose. He  couldn’t help but remember the stories his mother told him about the flower and how the flower grew from the tears of all the Cherokee mothers who’ve lost their sons to war.

He loved its smell, so he picked one up in his hands and gently arranged it inside his own hair and the image was definitely a contrast to Daryl’s angry and wild nature.  It was like a paradox, because he looked  like anything but fragile and the flower didn’t contribute to make his figure even more delicate, quite the contrary; Rick thought he looked even more complex than before.

Rick promptly prepared his camera and shoot the picture while Daryl was still distracted, sitting at a stone in the river. He could imagine how much the hunter’s ass was burning with the contact, but Daryl didn’t show any sign of being uncomfortable.

“Why dontcha leave more pictures for later and join me for a swim, Mr.Friendly?”- Daryl said, already jumping inside the cold water as if it was nothing.

The photographer definitely agreed, taking one last picture of Daryl emerging from the water, catching the exact moment his hair was flying in the air and then he headed inside just to keep his equipment safe before going outside again.  Daryl felt like a kid once again as he started to spill water on Rick’s face when the older man didn’t even joined him properly.

“Hmm… Water is kinda cold.”- Rick blurted, pretending to shiver a bit.

“Don’ be a pussy, Rick! Com' join me!”- Daryl laughed, calling Rick to come closer.

Rick approached him, this time taking him into his arms and staring right into the hunter’s soul. They change a couple of kisses and love bites before actually taking a swim together.

Daryl couldn’t enjoy himself more than he already was. Nothing could be more perfect; he was at paradise, in contact with the nature, skinny dipping with one of the most gorgeous man he ever had the honor to meet and the sun shining high in the sky. That’s what he would like to call living and he wouldn’t change a thing.

They’d spent the evening just enjoying each other’s company, walking around with their flip flops and hands attached. Daryl felt ridiculous for walking together like this, but all the embarrassment disappeared as soon as he reminded that Rick him being all ‘lovey dovey’. If anything, the older man as just happy to have him by his side.

That Sunday was the laziest either of them ever had; they just chilled into the woods, looking for rare types of plants and following deers around. Daryl wanted to see Rick working on his photos so they decided to come back to the main house around two in the afternoon.

After they both got properly dressed, besides Daryl who still remained without his shirt, Rick gathered all the polaroids  he had  taken on that day alongside with some from the past months.

Both of them sat comfortably on the fluffy carpet in front of the TV and started to look for the polaroids together. Rick had his camera in hands once more and he decided he needed to take a few more before concluding the project, so he gently positioned Daryl’s face to the front, teasing  the younger man’s thin lips with a thumb before pushing the thumb in.

Daryl closed his eyes, teasingly sucking Rick’s thumb as the photographer clicked a few more pictures. Later, his thumb went down, giving its place to his index finger, that traveled around, caressing the hunter’s adam’s apple until all of his fingers closed around the brunette’s neck, causing a little pressure there.

“Do you like that, Daryl?”- Rick asked because he would stop whenever his lover told him to.

“uh hun… s’ good…”- Daryl agreed, keeping his eyes closed ask his mouth was hanging open in the search for air.

That was definitely one of the most erotic pictures Rick’d ever got to shoot and once he let the neck go, Daryl took a deep breath , lowering himself down so he could rest against the photographers chest.

The last picture was extremely hot though and Daryl had a feeling that he would love this one;  Rick softly lowered his own pants, guiding Daryl’s chin down until the brunette had his mouth wrapped around his cock. He didn’t know what to expect from Daryl this time, but as usual the younger man surprised him, actually starring straight at the camera, with eyes that at the same time seemed as innocent as ones from a baby dear and the ones from a roughness of a black lince; he looked absolutely breathtaking like this.

After Rick had all the pictures he wanted for his series, he quickly dressed his pants again and  carefully shook the last two pictures in the air,  organizing  both of them by order around the floor; Daryl’s eyes following his every move until he was done.

Once the series of thirty pictures is finally done, both of them sit next to each other to observe the pictures. Daryl couldn’t pick his favorite because he loved them all; there was something about the rawness and lack of editing on polaroids that make it all seems ten times more realistic.

If he were to point his favorite, he wouldn’t be able to tell, but there was one in particular that he felt very fond of and it definitely was the one where he had the Cherokee Rose in his hair. His dear mother would love to see the picture if she was still alive, he thought with sorrow.

He was also trying to imagine what his big brother would say about that one. Probably would call him of Darleena as he used to do whenever he wanted to get on Daryl’s nerves. It seemed unreasonable, but he definitely missed all the banter between him and his brother.

“Which one is your favorite?”- Rick asked, as he caressed his own chin, still in doubt of which one he liked better.

“Dunno, hard question, Rick… Maybe dis one…”- Daryl replied, pointing to the one with the flower on his hair.

“Yeah, this one looks great! Remind me to make a copy for you later, right? Hm, I think my favorite is this one right here.”- Rick pointed to the one where Daryl’s sucking him off.

“ Thas ‘cause ya pervert as fuck…”- Daryl mocked, burying his face into Rick’s chest.

“Well, maybe, but surprisingly, is not the fact that you have my cock in your mouth. It’s your face. Look at that, look at your eyes; you look like a lince cat. I can see the savageness of a big cat while still seeing the innocence of a baby kitten. That’s absolutely stunning.”

Daryl was glad that his face was hidden, because immediately he felt his cheeks burning, because Rick was an expert on sweet talk.   Once he lost his shyness, Daryl started to fumble around the pictures on the bag, he wanted to see the other series.

There were at least 200 different pictures, each one gorgeous on its own way. Men, women, flowers, kids, Rick’s son, there were tons of pictures but surprisingly for Daryl not all of them were related to sex. Actually there were only a few of erotic polaroids there, including some stunning ones featuring a gorgeous red haired girl with beautiful breasts and lovely green eyes. 

She danced with a flower crown in one of the pictures and with a hoola hop in another. Clearly she had a few bruises in her skin that showed what her actual interests were about.

Rick noticed how fascinated Daryl was with these series in particular. “Katya. She was one of those ladies that take anyone’s breath away. Beautiful body and amazing humor.  I bet you’re wondering about the bruises, right?

“Yah… s’ just interesting. Ya ever dominated her?”- Daryl didn’t mind if Rick was the dominant type, but he was definitely surprised.”

“No, not at all.  She was just a friend from my art school. Submissive, you know. She had a dom and usually she would sport some very hardcore bruises like these ones. I never touched her though.” - Rick made sure to explain, because he wasn’t like that.

“Interestin'…”- Daryl bit his lip as he looked for some other pictures. He though some of his own were hardcore, but he wasn’t prepare to see worse.

There were pictures of dicks and male nudity, probably some male models, and ones were Rick clearly had his dick inside them.  The curious thing was that one was of the photographer himself, with a cup of beer in his hands while hugging a friend’s shoulder.

Daryl had to stare at the picture for a few minutes until he finally recognized the figure right next to the older man. ‘Shane’ , he thought and suddenly he started to panic. His heart was beating fast and he didn’t know how to deal with the fact that his stalker had a friendship with Rick.

“Hey…Is everything all right?”- Rick asked worried, softly stroking Daryl’s back. He definitely noticed how the younger man was frozen.

“W-who’s dis?”- Daryl started, because he wasn’t willing to give everything away.

“This? He’s Shane! My best friend since we were kids. We used to live near and he was the one who almost convinced me to join the police.” - Rick commented dreamily.

“Ya sure y’all was just friends?”- Daryl was praying and hoping Rick never had a romantic relationship with the officer.

“Haha, yes! Shane was 100% straight.”- Rick confirmed with a smile. “Unfortunately though, we had a few fights and then we never got to be the same as we were before.

Daryl wanted to laugh so hard. Shane straight? The officer who’ve been stalking him and promising him the world? That must’ve been a joke. The officer was far from straight, but if he was, maybe he was just using Daryl as a piece of ass and the thought really made Daryl’s stomach make a flip.

“Hmm… Right… He seems nice…”- Daryl tried to make it look like he wasn’t shaken at all.

“Nice? Not at all.”- Rick smiled bitterly. “Fucker betrayed me. I caught him fucking my wife in my own bed.  I discovered that she’d been cheating on me for years with Shane and that our - his child, Judith wasn’t mine.”

“Fuck…”- Daryl was in awe. He didn’t know if he should act surprised or pissed off but it was too much information for him to handle.

“Yeah… That was actually awful. Eventually, we kind of started to talk again, but things were not the same anymore.  I thought that after the divorce, he would go for Lori and try to have her and guess what? He got married with her, but that wasn’t the only thing that happened.”

“There’s more? Wow…”- Daryl was stunned, but not in a good way. He knew that something felt off about the officer.

“Not a long time after they got married, Shane was already running after another person. As far as I know, he was cheating Lori with a man this time. And here was I thinking he was straight. He never told me the name though, but he said that the boy was gorgeous.”

“Oh really?”- Daryl commented bitterly even though he didn’t intend to sound rude.

“Yeah… I don’t know much about the guy, but I could tell Shane was obsessed with him. He told me some stuff about planning to run away with him or something like that. Due all respect, if I were the guy, I wouldn’t want to mess with people like Shane. He can get pretty violent when he wants too.

“Yah…”- For a moment, Daryl was relieved to be safe there with the photographer. Now he knew exactly what type of person Shane was and he would never admit out loud, but he was more than afraid of meeting the men again.

He wanted to get rid of the picture in his hands as quickly as possible when he accidently stumbled his fingers on a picture that didn’t belong to the series of polaroid in his front. It was actually a regular picture, all black and white.

Daryl lost his breath for a moment; his hands were trembling with the picture. That couldn’t be happening. It was him as a young man and the worst part was that he reminded exactly when the picture had been taken. 

He was clearly younger there, wearing a hoodie and with eyes squinted as he flipped off the photographer.  It was him all along; Rick was the sweet photographer he’d met a long time ago, his first love, his first heartbreak and now he was there, right in front of him. The savior of his mind whenever he found himself into abusive situations with his clients; Rick was his guardian angel.

“Oh? That’s one of my favorite pictures of all time. I really don’t know what this one is doing here though.”- Rick gently took the picture in his hands, staring at it fondly.

“W-who’s he?”- Daryl stuttered, swallowing hard.

“He? Good question. I never got to meet him again, but I swear he was the most intriguing youngster I’ve ever seen. I took his picture back when I was beginning my photography bachelor’s.  I won a prize with this one by the way.”

“For real?”- Daryl was kind of proud for being part of something like this. He never got any prize in his life, so knowing that he was able to make Rick a winner made his heart skip a beat.

“Yeah. Gorgeous, isn’t he? I searched for him everywhere, but no one from the town knew him.  I even tried to contact the university because he definitely looked like someone who attended to the same course as me, but no, not even a clue.” - Rick finished with a sigh.

“Ya… Ya never tried to look for him again?”- Daryl asked expectantly. If he ever knew that there was someone out there looking out for him, he would definitely made himself more accessible.

“Actually I did. I never stopped looking for my muse until one day, when I was at a bar. I had lost all the hope I’ve got, but one of the men from the bar recognized the young man and told me the young man had lost his house to a fire.”

“And then…?”- Daryl was so afraid of where that conversation was heading to, that he had to refrain himself for blurting the truth out.

“Well, that was pretty much it, but later I’ve found out that the boy wasn’t as lucky as me. I figured he’d become a sex worker and then I started my crusade to find him at all costs.” - Rick finally confessed.

“Ya what?  Ya telling me ya set me up?”- Suddenly everything started to make sense, Rick knew who he was all along and that was the worst feeling in the world. Daryl couldn’t be more furious.

“Daryl, I swear that I didn’t know it was you until our first encounter. As soon as I saw your face, I knew it was you. I knew you were the man I’ve been looking for and the guys from the bar just helped me out.”

“ TA HELL Y’ALL!!!!”- Daryl finally lost it, getting up, trying hard to fight back the tears. “Ya knew all along, ya knew and ya never said a single word! What’s wrong with ya?”

“Daryl, hey, I’m sorry, I never… I never meant to ‘cause you any harm! If I searched for you, that’s because I was in love! I wanted to reach you, I wanted to help you to…”- Rick tried.

“Shut up! Shut up ya son of a bitch!”- If there was something Daryl hated was being lied to. He would expect this from everyone, but not from the photographer.

Rick felt his heart breaking as soon as the first tears started to stream upon Daryl’s face and the hunter tried to dry them with the back of his hands.

“Daryl I’m sorry, I never meant any harm, I just wanted to keep you safe. I wanted to help you out, is all.”- Rick was convinced that he hadn’t done anything wrong.

The escort only shook his head in disbelief with hands trembling as he quickly lit on a cigarette, taking a lungful smoke before releasing the air. He was shaking so much that he could barely carry the cigarette between his fingers, walking from side to side.

“What ya want from me, man?  Do ya thought ya could be mah prince in a shiny armor? Thought ya could take me out of mah misery? Life ain’t no fairytale!”- Daryl knew his voice was at least two tones higher, but he didn’t care.  

“Never said I was. What kind of prince would buy someone’s body for a night? I’m just as twisted as any other person that bought you, but I wanted to offer you a chance, a safe roof. I did what I thought it was the best for you, for both of us.”- Rick tried to explain.

“Ta hell ya excuses! I’ll tell what ya wanted, ya just wanted yer dick wet! 'Best for us both' my ass! Ya were thinkin’ ‘bout no one but yerself.”- Daryl smoked again, shaking his head in disbelief.

“It ain’t like that Daryl, I swear. There’s no scheme here, I just wanted to make you safe. I never lied when I told you that I was in love with you. I’ve been for a long time now, I promise you!” - Rick knew that he’d fucked up, but he wasn’t willing to give up.

Daryl didn’t say a single word anymore. Instead, he just enjoyed the last minutes of his cigarette before throwing it into the sink. He never got to say anything before gathering all of his belongings and dressing himself up.

He didn’t answer to any of the things Rick was saying and once he was completely done, he brushed the remains of his tears and stared right into Rick’s eyes, that now had a darker shade, both squinted in confusion. 

“Was blind… As if a redneck trash like me could have a chance.” - He told more to himself than to Rick and it really hurt. Maybe his dad was right, he wasn't born to be happy. 

“Daryl please. Don’t be like that. I never wanted to hurt y…”- Rick never got to finish his line because as soon as he realized, a hard fist got to his face, so hard that he fell on the floor.

With that, the hunter got out without saying a single word. Rick knew that this time there was nothing he could do to fix this, but he was willing to try. He never meant to cause any harm, he  just wanted to keep Daryl safe, but he didn’t know the price a lie would have and sooner then he thought, he was going to find out…

**To be Continued…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh the drama! Daryl's confused and hurt! I hope he figures everything out. Maybe he needed some time to think about everything, including his own life. How do you guys feel about the whole thing with Rick? Was he right for hiding it from Daryl? Was that a good decision? Let me know! More Shane shenanigans on the next few chapters! See ya!
> 
> I tried to make a few polaroids with Norman so you guys could get an idea of what they would look like: 
> 
> \- bare chest + cigarette & flowers on his hair - 
> 
>  
> 
> [](http://s45.photobucket.com/user/vickyslyth_/media/poll_zpslgww8vey.png.html)  
> 


	8. He says you don't want to be like me, don't wanna see all the things I've seen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lying was one of the worst things anyone could do to Daryl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Self harm, past child abuse mention and homophobic slurs; Might be kind of triggering so avoid if any of the subjects triggers you. I promise the next ones won't have anything related to this.

Daryl didn’t how many hours he walked through the woods, the sun was high and punishing his skin nonstop and to make it worse, he forgot about taking his hip flask too. He was lucky though, because he was born and raised into the woods and there wasn’t a thing he couldn’t do to survive around there. For hours he walked aimlessly, all by himself, sometimes stopping to drink water from some river, not really caring if it was healthy or not.

There was a time when he could actually hear his stomach growling in hunger; after all, it’d been hours since he left the cabin. He didn’t hesitate for a second, shooting the first squirrel he saw, eating it like it was one of the best feasts, but after a while, the water was also gone.

He’d reached a part at the woods where there were neither rivers nor lakes no more and it was so quiet, awfully quiet, that he couldn’t even hear squirrels or deers walking around anymore.

After a few more hours, he could tell he was getting dehydrated, but he didn’t want to have to go to extremes and drink his own piss; after all, he swore he would never pass through what he passed when he was younger, but alas, destiny had found a way to chastise him once more.

His vision was basically a blur when he got the first glimpse of a road. At that moment, he didn’t care about anything besides running and reaching it as soon as possible and when he  finally hit the road, his first instincts were to ask for a ride. He wouldn’t be able to walk any longer, because his feet were hurting way too much.

Daryl never thought that he would have to go back to basics in his life, but he got to do what he got to.  It wasn’t a shame because survival was never something to be ashamed of.

Swallowing his pride, he lifted his thumb and positioned himself on the sidewalk, praying for a good soul come and get him.

Sighing, he kept his finger up while caressing his own chest.  For a while he took out his good old cross, kissing it softly before putting it back where it belonged. He wasn’t the religious type of person, he didn’t believe in much things, however that was his mother’s rosary and he always thought it would protect him.

Of course there were times the rosary didn’t seem to help, but truly in his heart, he felt like the little object protected him somehow because if he’d made it alive until now, that sure meant that someone was actually was looking out him; he liked to imagine it was his sweet mother, the kind and loving one, not the one who drank herself to sleep and burned down because of her own cigarettes, was watchinf his back from heaven.

For a few more hours he waited and waited with no hope of a ride because the road was quite empty that day, but when he least expected, he saw an old white RV stopping right by and he felt like kissing it, but definitely refrained himself.

The driver quickly opened the door and offered a gentle smile to the man, waving excitedly from his seat.

“Need a ride, son?”- The old man offered. He was wearing a ridiculous bucket hat and a floral shirt, but seemed to be quite  friendly.

He didn’t look very threatening, so Daryl simply nodded and joined the man inside the car. As soon as he glanced to his ‘savior’ he made sure to check him out. Yeah, it wasn’t going to be the first time he’d done a man much older than him.

“Thanks…”- Daryl said in such a low voice that the other man could barely hear him.

“It’s a pleasure, child. I’m Dale.”- The kind man said in a peaceful voice. His eyes showed nothing but kindness.

Daryl just bit his lips taking a deep breath. It wasn’t like he was nervous at all, but he hoped the guy had something to use as a lube. He was almost sure that he would have trouble to make the guy ‘get up’ per se, but he could definitely try.

Without saying a word, Daryl turned to the man’s side, slowly reaching his hand until he got to the man’s fly.

Shamelessly, yet softly, Daryl started to rub the man over the pants, however he was surprised when the man gently rested his hands over his in a protective way.

“What’s wrong?”- Daryl asked confused. Most truckers enjoyed when he did it.

“There’s no need to do any of that, son. Relax. How about taking a nice cup of tea and get some rest? Don’t worry, child. It’s going to be a long ride.”- The man smiled, gently caressing Daryl’s face.

“Hmkay…”- Daryl replied with a blush, returning his hands to his own thighs.  It was the first time a driver didn’t want his ‘services’ but he couldn’t be gladder.

The older man smiled some more before stopping the RV in the middle of the road. Daryl took time to observe the whole car and noticed how huge it was for an RV; it was just like a small house, with a small kitchen and a table; also with a small bed and a lot of containers with supplies

Dale headed to his kitchen, turning the microwave on to boil some water and as soon as it was done, he poured a teabag there, explaining to Daryl that it was just a chamomile tea with a few drops of honey.

Once everything was done, he returned to the same spot, serving the cup of tea to Daryl and gently brushing the younger’s man forehead.

“Here son, a bit of chamomile tea with honey will help your nerves. Are you hungry? I can make you a sandwich if you want me to.”-  Dale offered, noticing how pale the other man was.

“Thanks…”- Daryl said softly. “Name’s Daryl and I ain't no one’s child.”- Daryl didn’t want to be rude, but he didn’t like to be treated as a child.

Dale laughed a delicious laugh, shaking his head from side to side. “For me, son, you’re nothing but a lad. Let me prepare something for you. Must be starving.”- He decided.

The escort didn’t say any other word after that, but he was very glad. It could’ve been way worse. Right now, if he was in some other’s haulers cars, he couldn’t even imagine what he would be doing right now. His head was pounding so much that he just wanted to finish the tea already so he could take some sleep.

“You’re safe now, child. Relax because we’ll have hours and hours ahead. The road seems fine, just as long as it doesn’t rain.”- Dale smiled, tuning the radio in, playing some old school country music.

Daryl was so glad for the company and the ride, he couldn’t be gladder than he already was. Maybe his mother’s rosary truly helped him this time. He couldn’t help but smile, gently caressing his own chest before giving a bite on a huge ham sandwich.

As soon as Daryl finished his meal, Dale thought he would finally take a nap, but what happened wasn’t what he was expecting at all. The younger man just supported his back at his own seat crying low, all curled up into a ball. He hated crying in front of others because it made him feel weak and hopeless. Dale didn’t say much though, but gently caressed Daryl’s long hair, whispering words of encouragement.

“ m’sorry…”- Daryl didn’t even know what he was apologizing for, but he couldn’t help it.

“Shh…. Cry, son. That’s good for you. Let it all out. Whatever it is that is bothering you right now, it will pass. I promise you.”- Dale tried, gently stroking the young man’s face, brushing some of his tears away.

Nothing else was said after that until Daryl finally fell asleep, but not before telling his address to the man. Most of the time, he didn’t trust people at all, however, Dale seemed to be trustable so he decided to give in.  

After what seemed like three hours of travel, they finally got to Daryl’s house. The sun was almost down now, it was already noon. Before getting out of the RV, Daryl approached the older man to press a soft kiss upon his cheeks and give him a tight hug.

He was surprised because he wasn’t the type of person who got intimate with people that were not close. Of course, either if he wanted or not, he had to touch his clients, however, with Dale was different. In less than 4 hours, the man was more his father than his own and for that he was glad.

“Take care, old man.”- Daryl laughed, before lighting a cigarette.

“You take care too, son. God bless you.”- The man smiled before starting the car and leaving.

Daryl felt like crying again because that man was an angel on earth, but he scowled instead, to himself, for being such an emotional mess. He hated being emotional and after what happened on that day, he just couldn’t help it.

Sometimes he wished his big brother culd be there to comfort him, even with harsh words and his own way of doing things. As soon as he entered his apartment, the first thing he did was lock the door behind him and sit on the floor of his living room.

His phone was still ringing, showing at least fifteen messages, however he completely ignored them all, just throwing his cellphone at the carpet. He wasn’t dealing with Rick right now, he couldn’t and he didn’t want to.

Everything felt so cathartic; him crying on the floor, eyes unfocused as he pressed the burning tip of the cigarette right on his pulse, pressing it on and on until his whole arm was covered in burning marks.

He promised himself that he wouldn’t do it anymore, if not for him, for his clients at least, who didn’t appreciate seeing marks like those, but there was nothing he could do about it this time.  Having someone he actually cared about lying so blatantly to him felt way close to home.

It wasn’t the first time someone he loved lied to him and he was sure it wasn’t going to be the last. With a sigh, he finally gathered the courage to get up from the floor and move to his bed.

Daryl knew he should buy something to eat, but he wasn’t hungry at all. The only thing he did before going to his room was getting hydrated, drinking cold water straight from the bottle  and falling right into his bed.

The tears wouldn’t stop falling and he couldn’t stop hating himself for being so vulnerable; he felt completely weak, just like his father used to call him and before he even realized, he was falling asleep once more.

He thought he could finally get his deserved rest and pretend that nothing else have happened, however his mind had some other plans because as soon as he felt into his deep sleep, a very vivid dream from his past came knocking.

**_~Flashback ~_ **

_It was almost dark when a small boy with light brown hair and eyes as blue as the morning sky was running frenetically through the corn fields. He wasn’t smiling and there were small tears falling all over him as he placed his small hand upon his own chest._

_Daryl knew that he wouldn’t escape his faith this time. His father told him to stay away from Billy, but stubborn as he was he couldn’t obey; he was in love with the boy and there was nothing he could do to stop the feeling, even if he wanted to._

_He was barely ten years old, but he was so afraid of having his life taken away from him. The last beating was one of the worsts and he still had vivid dreams about it every now and then. If it wasn’t for Merle, his father would’ve killed him with his own cold hands._

_Small and fragile, there was nothing he could do to stop the man, so he did what he did best and ran as fast as he could, he ran like a baby tiger being hunted down by a hunter, but he wasn’t nearly as fast as his father._

_Once he finally reached the door of their cabin, his father knocked him down by pulling him by his feet. Daryl fell on the floor with his face and started to cry, but still got to release his feet from his old man’s grasp._

_Standing on his too feet, the boy gasped and cried with his small hands protecting his own chest. He was so scared that he pissed his own pants._

_“Watcha doin ya fag?? Ya pissin’ in ma carpet?!”- His father yelled, already unbuckling his belt._

_“M’ sorry, Pa! I promise it ain’t gonna happen again, Pa, m’sorry!”- The kid begged desperate, the tears streaming down his face._

_“Ya shut yer mouth if ya know what’s good for ya!”- The older man spitted on the floor, rolling the belt on his hands._

_“No pa, no! I promise I ain’t going after Billy Ray no more, I promise!”- Daryl tried to stay cam, but his body wouldn’t stop shaking._

_All he got in return was a closed fist right on his nose. Daryl fell on the floor crying, his little hands covering his bloody nose protectively. Not even his mother's mom rosary made him feel safe anymore._

_“Ya shut your hole! How many times I have ta tell ya? Dixons ain’t fags ya son of a bitch! Ya better shut it before I knock ya so hard ya gonna lose the rest of teeth ya have!”- the man scowled._

_“No pa…Please!”- Daryl was crying for real this time. He lost one teeth already and he really didn’t want to lose the others as well._

_“Ya really wanna get ugly dontcha, boy?  Ya already ugly as fuck without one teeth and without the others I bet no one will want ya again! That serves ya right!” - The old man yelled, striking Daryl with his leather belt._

_Daryl couldn’t handle most of what his father did to him, but the belt really hurt him since his father loved striking him with the buckle. He knew he was lost and that there was nothing else he could do; he was sure he was going to die this time._

_His father'd beat him so hard that night that when he was finally done, Daryl could barely move himself on the floor. His tiny body was trembling and he mumbled nonsense, his right eye closed with a huge purple ball around it. His thin lips were teared down and his cheeks were all red._

_Beating wasn’t enough for his father; he also had to humiliate him by pissing on his face right after the assault. The old man just looked at him with disgust, spitting in despise before taking a sip on the bottle of whisky in his hands._

_“it hurts.. it hurts …”- Daryl cried on the floor, sometimes coughing loudly. His chest  was hurting a lot and so were his legs, his stomach but mostly his face._

_“Serves ya right ya piece of…”- His father never got to finish the sentence because soon he was stricken with a piece of wood right on his neck._

_It wasn’t enough to kill the man but it was enough to keep him unconscious for a while. Merle, who was fifteen at the time, grabbed his little brother from the floor and took him to their bathroom._

_Merle made sure to clean all of his wounds and check to see if there wasn’t any intimate injuries.  His eyes were burning with rage, he wanted to kill his old man with his both hands but he would wait until the right time._

_As soon as Daryl woke up again, his first instinct to his brother’s scent was to hug him tight and cry his heart out. He lknew Merle didn't liked when he cired and would probably tell him to stop and man up, but he was surprised whem his brother didn't brush him off._

_“Shh baby brother, Merle is here and he’s gonna protect ya from that fucker’. - When he wanted, Merle could be kind with his words and at the moment, he just wanted his little brother to feel better._

_He knew about the beatings all along but he himself was also a victim and ran away whenever stuff got ugly between him and his father. For a while, he thought that maybe his father wouldn’t go far with his little brother, but how wrong he was._

_Merle knew that as soon as he told Daryl the truth, his little brother would never forgive him again, but he could live with the burden; he had to._

**_~End of Flashback~_ **

That was really the last thing Daryl needed to remember on that night, he woke up crying, barely able to breathe.  His vision was a blur and he was about to pass out when strong arms embraced him just at the right time.

He didn’t know who the intruder was, but he was just praying it wasn’t Shane because he really wasn’t willing to deal with his bullshit after all he'd been through , but he was shocked when he heard the known husky voice talking loud.

“Relax baby brother, it's jus' me, good ol’ Merle.”- The blond man smiled , pressing a soft kiss upon Daryl’s hair.

**To be continued…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god,what's going to happen next? What will Merle do? See you all on the next chapter! Neither of your will see mote dark stuff like this on the next chapters, this one ws the only one, yikes, it was heavy writing it, but I just wanted to give you guys the idea of whathe'd been through.


	9. Baby's all dressed up, with nowhere to go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick knew he had to do something to gain Daryl's attention and he would do anything to get it. Daryl is just trying to fix himself when someone new comes to play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: minor homophobic slurs

Rick took another swig of whisky, but in fact he’d stopped tasting anything about two hours ago. He hated that drinking has become his routine whenever he felt stressed out. He wasn’t the type of guy who would drink until he passed out, but worryingly enough, that particular day wasn’t being very kind to him, so he decided that treating himself a little wouldn’t be that bad.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes for the third time because he was so tired of waiting and trying to get a reply. Rick knew that there would be no use of trying and calling the man again, but in the end he decided to give it a try.

Of course, he wasn’t too hopeful because it’s been hours since the last time he tried to call Daryl but the phone went directly to the voicemail. Suddenly, when he was losing all of his hope, someone behind the line actually answered  the call.

“Daryl, please! You gotta listen to me, Daryl, Dar…”- Rick never got to finish the call because soon the other line had hanged up;

Rick swore, throwing his phone on the floor, but luckily it didn’t broke because it landed right at the carpet. He knew there was no turning back now, but if only he could turn back time. If anything he never planned to make Daryl know about the picture, at least not this early.

He thought he was helping the man out, giving him a better life, but after all they both have been through and what he learned from Daryl, he knew now that it wasn’t his place; it wasn’t his choice to make. Lying to Daryl was awful, but he was willing to do anything he could to make the man safe.

If only Daryl answered to his calls, he would take time to try and clean up the stuff between them. Everything was finally working out for him after a long time, but now, just like in the past, he had to fuck it up. He could make mistakes, but he didn’t want to do wrong with the escort; he wanted them to have a life together, however he knew it was too late.

He wasn’t willing to give up yet though; he would go as far as he could just to win Daryl’s attention. He wouldn’t mind spending all night long in front of the alley just to have a chance of seeing him again.

Rick wasn’t a stalker, he wasn’t like Shane and he didn’t want to be like him at all, but he had to try and gain Daryl’s attention again, somehow.

As his mind wandered down his plan, he wondered how Daryl would react if he showed up blue uninvited. He didn’t want to make him feel unsafe, he just wanted a chance. It was hard enough to gain the escort’s trust, so he couldn’t imagine what he should do to regain the same trust.

People like Daryl weren’t very fond of liars and Rick could notice that as soon as he observed the brunette’s reaction to the whole Shane’s story.  It would be hard to get him to trust him again, but he was willing to try and not let go this easily.

It was already dark when Daryl finally calmed down after the nightmare. Merle offered him some shuteye, but he refused because he wanted to be wide awake. After all, it’d been a year since the last time he saw his brother.

Merle literally had to push him away, otherwise, Daryl wouldn’t let go of him for nothing in the world. After a cup of hot coffee prepared by Merle himself, the brunette sighed, just shaking his head in disbelief.

“Merle…”- He started,  but he could already feel the tears  starting to fall.

“Shh, none of that! Stop crying, Darleena! Ya a man or a pussy?”  - Merle complained.

“m’ sorry Merle…”- Immediately Daryl dried his tears, not wanting to look or sound weak in front of his brother.

“That’s better. Now, tell ol’ Merle what the hell’s goin’ on?”- Now, he sounded a little calmer.

“ S’ nothing, Merle. m’ just being childish. It ain’t nothing worth of mah tears…”- Daryl confessed, sniffing a little.

“Now you listen to me. Ain’t nobody ever gonna care ‘bout ya except me little brother. Ya hear me?”- Merle wasn’t the kindest person in the world, but he genuinely cared about his baby brother.

“I know, Merle.”- Daryl agreed, even though he knew it wasn’t quite truth, he did have someone caring about him now, but he definitely brushed the person off..

Merle just laughed at his brother’s reaction, snooping around Daryl’s apartment to see if he could find anything interesting. Daryl hated how nosey his brother was, but he’d been missing him so much that he was willing to forgive him, just this time.

“Oh hoho! Look what I've found! Baby brother ‘been knocking some boots all day long?”-  Merle joked, shaking a package with at least 12 condoms.

“ S’ none of yer business..”- Daryl scowled, getting up just so he could grab the package and put it right where it belonged.

“How ‘bout having a man ta man talk, little brother? Watcha doing for a living now? - Merle got serious again, sitting right in front of his brother.

“Stuff… Ya know…”- Daryl bit his lips, pointing his head towards the condoms.

“Well, I'll be monkey's uncle! Never thought my baby brother would fuck for a living. Ya do what ya gotta do. Looks like mah baby brother’s getting some pussy .”- Merle shrugged in support.

Daryl had to close his eyes and bite his tongue to not screw everything up. He knew pretty well how small minded his brother was and after the awful day he had, he didn’t want to finish it with a black eye and probably broken bones. He wasn’t willing to come out to his brother, not now, not ever.

“Mmm..”- The brunette agreed without saying further.

Merle had that look in his eyes that seemed just like the one of a tiger who was about to bite its prey and it wasn’t a good look, Daryl could tell.  

“Ya see, baby brother. I know when I see a fag in mah face.”- He started. “Said ya do whatcha gotta do.”

Daryl thought that he was dreaming, because his brother didn’t hit him or did anything like that. Instead, he just smiled bitterly, pulling his little brother into a very tight hug, like he never did before. Sometimes Merle was more comprehensive than Daryl expected him to be.

He knew deep inside that Merle would support him in whatever job he was doing, even if it was about selling the experience of his body. Survival always came first for the Dixons and that was one of the things that were never going to change.

“Ain’t you gonna say nothin’ ‘bout this, Merle?”- Daryl was scared to ask, but he had to know why the sudden change of behavior.

“Listen, kid. Let’s make clear that I ain’t fond of dem queers and knowing my baby brother’s one of ‘em  ain’t making me happy either, but ya do what ya gotta do. Ain’t no shame working ta put food on your table.” - That was the best way Merle could show his support.

“Thanks, Merle.”- Daryl smiled as his brother pressed a soft kiss upon his forehead.

“Ya take care of yourself, baby brother. Have ta go back to my cell, hate the damn thing but… Ya take care, hear me?”- The blond man smiled, teasing Daryl’s hair before leaving.

As always, he was leaving Daryl, but surprisingly, this time, the brunette didn’t feel as alone as before. Having the support of his brother, even if partially, was more than he could’ve asked for. The coffee did help him to relax too and according to his watch, he could still dress himself up and try to get lucky that night.

So he did what he did best; took a long shower, combed his hair, dressed one of his favorite muscle shirts , his favorite pair of snake boots and waited. Judging by the number of voicemails he got, a lot of his clients tried to book him on the last Saturday, so luckily one of them would probably want to book him that Sunday as well.

He was about to give a call to one of his wealthiest clients when is phone actually started ringing. For a minute he thought it was Rick, but the number was different, from someone he never saw or heard of before.

“Daniel speaking.”- He started, clearing his throat.

“Oh, howdy, Daniel, this is Bill.”- The voice was clearly from a southern man, though it sounded sweeter than the ones Daryl was used to.

“Hey Bill, how can I help ya today?”- It was funny because Daryl  never booked anyone with this name.

“Ugh… S’ my first time with an escort so… Was wonderin’ if ya could gimme a blow? How much?” - The client asked a little hesitant.

“$30 with a condom, $50 without.” -  Daryl said the basics because serving newbies was always fun for him.

“Jus’ another question.  Two actually. Ya fancy som’ country music? Also, would ya gimme some s-sugar?”- Bill stuttered.

“Heck yeah, love country but nah, I ain’t kissin’ no one. Kissin’s against mah rules.”- Daryl made sure to make himself clear.

“All right. Where should I go? Where you at?”-  Bill asked because he really didn’t have a clue on how escorting services actually worked.

“Ya can come ta my apartment. Building number 45, next ta that pizza place called ‘Soprano’s. Apartment number five. Ya will be asking for Daniel’s room at the door, got it?” Daryl explained.

“Got it. Will be right there.”- The guy was in such a rush that he didn’t even ask if Daryl was exactly available this time.

It took the visitor less than half an hour until he got to the building.  It was very simple, but seemed quite old. Apparently it only had five stores, so it wasn’t this complicated. As soon as Bill arrived at the door, the doorman asked who he was and after a very quickly reply and a phone call, the man was sent up.

He didn’t know what to expect, but he just hoped he wasn’t too nervous. His palms were already sweating though, which was kind of embarrassing, but he was sure the escort had dealt with first-timers before, so it shoud't be a problem.

When he ringed the doorbell, Daryl’s lanky figure appeared and the man thought that he would pass out. That was the most gorgeous man he’d ever seen in his whole life and looked somehow familiar, but it was probably just his imagination.

“Howdy!”- Bill greeted, shaking hands with the escort who quickly closed the door behind them.

“Hey. S’ nice having another southerner for a client. Where do ya come from?”- Daryl asked, grabbing a beer and giving it to the man in his front.

“S’ nice hearing my own accent too. M’ from a small town…”- The man smiled, playing with the beer in his hands.

Daryl thought it was adorable. Bill seemed to be in his 30’s and yet, looked a bit younger than the escort himself. He had a strawberry short blond hair and an equally strawberry blonded beard. His eyes were as green as fresh grass and he was definitely taller than Daryl.

“Relax. Ya tense as hell… Lemme put some music on…”- Daryl smiled, tuning in his radio on his favorite country music channel.

“Quite nervous… S’ mah first time… Not with a man, tho, with an escort… Don’t want no rubber though…”- Bill blushed hard, grabbing his bottle of beer a little tighter in his hands.

“Shh… Relax…”- Daryl said, helping the man out of his pants and making him sit on the couch.

The brunette was on his knees ,sitting right in the middle of the blond man’s legs.  He took time to make his hand wet with some saliva before grabbing the man’s cock in his hand, stroking him gently, never stopping to look up.

He knew that men loved to look at his eyes when he jerked them off, so he definitely gave his best show, stroking the man gently, sometimes a little quicker before teasing the head with the tip of his tongue.

Daryl barely started and the man was already whimpering under his touch.  For him, there was nothing better than sucking a cock to the song of country music; it made him feel home, as if he was in his old cabin, except he would be happily alone without his father or his brother around, just enjoying the cock he was taking.

The guy was quite big, but those were the types Daryl loved the most. He loved challenging himself every now and then, deep throating everything he could before he needed to catch some breath.

Even though the radio was quite loud, Bill could still listen to the wet sound of the slurps and that was a huge turn on for him. He’d never had such a good blowjob in his whole life.  He wanted to grab Daryl’s hair in his hand, fuck his mouth, but he curbed his own excitement, knowing his place.

He didn’t want to look like a horny dog in front of such a gorgeous man, so he concealed, just closing his eyes and gently caressing Daryl’s smooth hair with his free hand. Judging by the john’s face, he wouldn’t last longer and that was a bummer, because Daryl was really enjoying his time with the man.

“Dammit… m’ close… m’ close….”- The man gasped a little embarrassed for doing so, He wanted to last longer, but he couldn’t help it because the escort’s mouth felt way too good.

Daryl smiled, pacing up his rhythm and chuckling as soon as Bill had become a whimpering mess beneath him.  At the last strokes, Daryl decided he didn’t want to swallow because he wasn’t feeling like it, so instead, he released the cock from his mouth with a loud ‘pop’ and stroked it a few times, until the man came right in his face ; The brunette made sure to close his eyes because cum in eyes was never fun.

Bill gasped loudly, his mouth hanging open and his heart beating fast. That was by far the best experience he had with a man, and it definitely wasn’t his first, but he could count on his fingers the ones that were actually enjoyable like this one.

“Well… That was fun…” - Daryl licked his own lips, grabbing a few baby swipes for himself and for his client.

“Yah…”- Billy smiled, cleaning his own cock with the small cleansing towel. “Ya good.”

“Thanks…”- Suddenly , Daryl didn’t want it to be over. It was kind of quick ,but he did wanted to know more about the man.

“Ray, by the way…”- The man said with a blush.

“What?”- Daryl was confused; what did his client meant he didn’t know.

“Billy Ray, thas’ mah name. Don’t like it much ‘cause it sounds too hillbilly, but whatever… It is what it is.”- The man shrugged.

“Thas’ a good name, Billy Ray. Ain’t no shame ‘bout being a southerner.”- Daryl smiled because that name brought him a lot of memories. He was trying to focus only on the good ones though.

For a moment, both kept their eyes on the floor, just blushing with hands hidden inside their thighs, but as soon as Daryl was about to say something, his phone ringed and he decided to answer because if it wasn’t now, he knew the man wouldn’t leave him alone.

“Daryl? Daryl, thanks god! I’ve been trying to call you all day long.”-  A desperate voice begged  at the other line.

“Watcha want?”- Daryl made sure to be as cold as ice.

“Just a few minutes, that’s all I’m asking you, Daryl. Please, just consider this.”- Rick begged once more. He wasn’t the type of man who did this, but he had no choice.

“Fine.”- Daryl said between teeth. “Meet me at the bar next ta Wendy’s.”- He finally gave in.

Rick didn’t even get to finish the call because soon enough the call was already over and the line went completely mute. He had just a few minutes to make everything right and he could just hope for the best.

**To be continued….**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh? Who's this? What will Rick do and most important, where is Shane? You'll learn about all of those things on the next chapter! See ya there!


	10. Streetwalk at night and a star by day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick is not the type of person who gives up easily

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry about my late! The finals are kicking my ass right now, but gladly I could manage to write some more. 
> 
> Warning: Stalking behaviour , guns

Daryl massaged his temples, taking the nearest package of cigarette to light one; he thought he definitely deserved one after what happened. He wasn’t a kid no more, but heavens it was too much to deal with.

Rick was one of the few people he actually trusted besides Glenn, Maggie and his own brother and it felt special, to be aware that there was someone out there taking care of him, even though he wouldn’t admit how much he liked the attention.

See, he wasn’t very fond of liars, especially when the liars were people he definitely cared about.  Maybe Rick did it with good intentions, but he should’ve been honest since day one, god, Daryl was finally starting to believe that his life could get a little better, now that he had someone like Rick, but now everything was collapsing like a house of cards right in front of his face.

Rick lied to him, Shane was insane and now, Billy, who Daryl was sure that was his good old sweetheart, came out of nowhere just to twist his life even more. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even listen to the john talking to him.

“Wow.” - Billy gasped in awe. “Is tha’ a Barnett Jackal?”- He asked, carrying Daryl’s bow between his arms.

“Yah… Cool huh? Had another before, but sold it to pay dem bills, then I got this little baby right ther’” - Daryl nodded, a small smile drawing upon his lips.

“Yah... Good one. I use’ ta have an Inferno Fury. Bes’ crossbow ever, I can tell. Use’ ta hunt raccoons with it, nice precision, man, very nice…”- Billy said dreamily, handling the crossbow as if it was a baby.

Daryl was fascinated; his eyes lit with Billy’s stories, some reminding him too much of himself and some new ones. It’d been a while since he had a partner in hunting who was as passionate with tracking as he himself was.

“Billy…If it ain’t too bold ‘a me, may I ask ya where ya from?”- Daryl bit the tip of his thumb nervously, chewing on it slowly before gaining some confidence.

“I was born and raised in the mountains of Georgia. Had a nice house there, nothin’ too fancy, but it was a home.  Use’ ta hunt squirrels, catch frogs, jump from tree ta tree. Yah... Was a good life.” - Billy smiled one of the smiles Daryl loved the most and misses sorely.

Daryl could feel the palms of his hands sweating after the confession. Now he was more than sure that this was his childhood sweetheart, standing right there and it wasn’t just a vision; it was someone of flesh and bones.

“Don’ think ya gonna remember me, but m’ Daryl. Use’ ta live next to ya.”- Daryl confessed because unlike certain persons he didn’t want to pretend to be someone he wasn’t.

 Billy almost let the crossbow fall, but fortunately his reflexes were as sharp as one from a wild cat. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes seemed just like the ones from a man who just had found water in the desert; he wasn’t alone after all, after so many years. His first instinct was to approach Daryl and hug him tightly between his arms, hiding his face on the crook of the escort's neck.

“Dare, is that ya? Can’t believe it’s ya! Missed ya so much…”- Billy whispered, nuzzling against Daryl’s neck.

“Yah, thas’ me. Been missing ya too…”- The escort really didn’t know what to say or do anymore besides hug the man back.

The strangest thing though wasn’t the fact that Daryl’s heart was beating faster than ever, but the single fact that he didn’t feel like getting involved romantically with the man and that was confusing, because all of his life, Billy had been the object of his fantasies, the expression of his deepest desires, but now that he was there, right in front of him, Daryl just couldn’t imagine them together;

It was a balm to know that he wasn’t alone in the world anymore and that Billy didn’t change at all, but surprisingly, Daryl himself had changed a lot since a few years ago and for him, that was the scariest thing in the world. Changing was always something scary, but he didn’t feel upset about it. He just wished he had more time to meet Billy again, but as his mama used to say, some things were not meant to be, but that was okay too, because it only opened doors to new experiences and discoveries.

“Man, m’ glad to find a friend after so much time! Why don’ we keep in touch ta hunt? I hunt on weekends now, how ‘bout ya?”- Billy asked hopeful.

“Sounds good, man. I’m game.”- Daryl smiled , before looking at his phone. It was the third time Rick tried to call him. “Mmkay, gotta fly now. Do ya mind if we talk later? Got som’ business ta do.”

“No prob, Dare. See ya ‘round. Call me n'time, all right?”- Billy almost begged, pressing a soft kiss upon Daryl’s cheeks before leaving the apartment.

That went better than Daryl expected it to be. Now he had another folk to hunt with, just like in the old days. If their meeting served for something, it helped him to realize that people indeed changed, but that it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing at all.

Gathering all his courage, he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, after all, there was no denying he had a cock in his mouth just a few minutes ago. He also changed his shirt since the old one was stained. Wearing his leather coat, he got out of his apartment before hopping on his bike. Rick had marked their encounter at the same fancy coffee of their first meeting, but Daryl decided to park one block away, just in case.

As soon as he got out of his bike and took away his helmet, he could tell that there were footsteps behind him. He closed his eyes in annoyance, deciding to walk a little faster, but it was hopeless since the steps behind him got closer and closer with time.

“Hey, hey… Why you running so much?”- A strong voice echoed behind his back.

“Mm...Nah, don’t have time for this Shane, go away.”- Daryl warned him, as cold as ice.

“Hey now, I wouldn’t run my mouth like that if I were you. After all, I’m the one with the badge’. - Shane smirked, trying to approach Daryl even more.

“Mmm… We talk later, right? Leav’ me ‘lone for now, Shane.”- The escort gave in. Of everything that was happening with him, the only thing he didn’t want to deal at the moment was with a furious Shane. He knew he would end up hurt either way.

“Fine. Will be waiting for you here and I won’t leave until you listen to what I have to say.”- Shane scowled, crossing his arms and supporting his weight on the police car behind him.

Daryl didn’t even contemplate to answer the officer’s statement; instead, he just rolled his eyes, walking towards the café’s door and sighing in relief just as soon as he glanced and saw Rick siting on one of the tables; apparently he already got their coffees first.

He couldn’t say it surprised him, but the photographer looked exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes and shoulders loose as if he didn’t rest for at least two nights.

“D-Daryl, hi!”- Rick complimented, already getting up to offer the chair for Daryl, but a hand gesture was enough for him to know that he shouldn’t do it.

“Ain’t no lady.”- Daryl said trying to make his voice sound as firm as possible even though his heart was beating like hell.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to… Well, I brought you a coffee. Black with no sugar, just the way you like it.”- Rick tried, gently pushing the cup towards Daryl.

“So? m’ getting bowed up so ya better start spewing, man.”- Daryl ordered impatiently, taking a sip on his cup.

“Daryl I’m sorry, all right? I swear hurting you was never my intention. You weren’t supposed to discover about the picture like that. I was just waiting for the right moment.”- Rick sighed rubbing his eyes. He hadn’t sleep the whole day after their fight.

“What’s yer surname, Rick?”- Daryl blurted; he wasn’t joking around.

“Why would you want to..?”- Rick zipped his mouth after a glare. “Grimes. It’s Grimes.”

“Rick Grimes, ya ‘bout ta learn somethin’ today. If there’s n’thing ya wanna tell me, spit it out. I ain’t foolin’ around and I ain’t here for liars like yerself.”-  Daryl’s eyes were a little darker than before.

To Daryl's surprise, the photographer didn't frown. Instead, his features where soft, soothing even. “What’s wrong, darlin’?’ - For someone who was desperate, Rick sounded pretty calm. Even under protests he gently touched Daryl’s face.

“Ya lied ta me, Rick…”- Daryl’s voice was cracking, but he wouldn’t give in. “Of all people, Rick, ya the one I only expected the truth. Ya the only one.”

Rick shook his head, moving his hands forward so he could catch Daryl’s hand between his. Of course the escort took his hand out of the way, but Rick was more than insistent, taking it  back once again.

“Daryl, I swear to God, I would never do anything to hurt you. I swear by my own child that I would never do anything to make you feel like this. I love you Daryl, I love you and I was just trying to protect you.”- Rick whispered; he finally confessed his feelings.

“Don’ need no protection. I can take care a’ myself, all right? Don’ want no Prince Charming.”- Daryl felt really uncomfortable when people tried to help him out, that was a fact.

“I know, Daryl, I know. But that doesn’t mean I can’t try and help you.  I never tried to reach you to take you out of this life. I just wanted to be with you. It doesn’t matter what you do with your own body, Daryl. I just want you here by my side.”- The photographer spoke his heart out.

Daryl didn’t reply at first, but slowly started to chew on his thumb in a sign of nervousness. He didn’t know why he always reacted like that whenever he felt like his life was about to change, but he just couldn’t help it. He wouldn’t admit it even in his grave, but by God, he was scared.

“… Need som’ time ta think… Gonna hunt or somethin’…”- Those were Daryl’s last words before he flew from the restaurant, not even finishing his cup of coffee.

He felt ridiculous and childish because he was really hurt. He hated liars with all of his heart, but deep inside he knew Rick wasn’t a bad person.  He just didn’t like to feel people trying to control his life.

All those years and he thought he was completely alone in the world and Rick could’ve reached him, but he just didn’t and that broke his heart. Since when Rick knew about him? How many years he’d been searching for Daryl in every single alley of their town? 

If anything, the talk helped him to clear his mind a bit, but he knew that it would be better to hop on his bike and run to the woods, the only place he truly felt safe into. Maybe some hunting would help him to relax and think about the things more clearly.

However, the universe as usual seemed to have another plan for him, because as soon as he tried to jump on his bike, he felt someone pulling him by the arm and taking him far away from the coffee shop.

“I gave you time enough and now it’s time to hear me. Get in.”- Shane was furious, tugging at Daryl’s shirt and pushing him towards the cruiser.

“Nah man, m’ not in the mood right now, lemme go, man. I swear I’ll call ya back.”- Daryl tried, he definitely wasn’t up to deal with Shane’s bullshit.

“Now you listen to me, fucker. We’re going to take a ride.”- Shane stated, already starting the car. That wasn’t a good sign at all, especially because he smelt like alcohol.

“Ya drunk, Shane, stop. Ya don’t wanna do this, man.”- Daryl tried to reason the man; he just wanted to come back home safe and sound.

 “Ain’t drunk, Daryl. Just wanna talk. Ya coming to my place with me, all right?”- Shane had a strange gleam into his eyes; his mouth forming a smirk as he gently stroked Daryl’s thighs.

“By talk ya mean ta fuck me until I pass out? No way , Shane , I ain’t yer fucking’s sex toy, man!”- Now the escort was starting to panic, especially because Shane wasn’t actually driving home, he was stopping in the middle of nowhere.

“Would you shut up? SHUT UP!”- Shane yelled and for the first time in his life, Daryl felt threatened by the man in the front seat.

“Man, don’ do n’thing ya gonna regret. Please man, just take me home. Gonna do anything ya want, I swear.”- Daryl felt like punching himself in the face. He wasn’t the type of person who begged for his life, but he didn’t trust the officer at all.

“Ain’t gonna do nothing.”- Shane said, finally stopping the car next to the road.

For a minute, Daryl tried to reach for his phone, to call Rick or someone to help him, but Shane was faster. He was incredibly fast once he unbuckled and got out of the car, opening the backseat’s door and joining the other man.

Daryl truly feared for his life because Shane wasn’t a person of trust at all, and drunk he was even worse.  Shane just smiled, gently stroking Daryl’s face before hitting it hard with a full open hand.

The slap hurt like a bitch and Daryl could feel the pain tingling on his right cheek. Surprisingly though , gentle kisses came after the attack, everywhere from neck to shoulders and chest.

“Shane, please…”- Daryl was about to cry, but he wouldn’t give in. He could feel the tears struggling to get out, but he wouldn’t let them.

Something snapped inside of Shane and almost immediately he took his hands out of Daryl’s, babbling nonsense to himself.

“Get out of here, Daryl. Now or so help me.”- Shane warned as his big hands covered his own face.

“Shane wha… What’s going on man?”- Daryl knew that was his chance to go away and never come back but something was very wrong with the officer.

“I said go! Don’t make me kill you man, I swear I will put a bullet in your head if you don’t get the fuck out right now! Call the police, send them to me!”- Shane yelled with a gun in his hands.

That was all Daryl needed to know before flying away from the car and running like his life depended on it. He never ran this fast in his whole life and he just stopped when the sky was already getting dark and he found himself in his usual dirty alley.

With his hands over the chest, Daryl tried to breathe properly while dialing to the police. He didn’t know what was wrong with Shane, but he knew that he wouldn’t possibly be alive anymore if he remained in the car with the man.  

After giving all the information he could to the police, his first instinct was calling Rick; He finally understood that he wasn’t as safe as he thought he was and maybe Rick understood this better than him.

“Rick … C-can ya pick me a’ my point…Please?”- He gasped without actually waiting for a reply.

“Daryl? Is everything all right? You literally ran away today, what’s going on?”- There was genuine worry in his voice even though it sounded reassuring at the same time.

“Come pick me up, please man!”- Daryl begged before hanging out. At least listening to Rick’s voice was soothing.

Rick only had time to pay for the coffees before bolting to his car; he didn’t even want to know if there was anyone on the way, he just wanted to reach Daryl as soon as possible. He shrugged after running literally four red lights, but thankfully the streets were empty on that day.

As soon as he got to Daryl’s point, immediately he got out of his car and held Daryl by the waist, taking him to the car and gently tucking him in.  Even though Rick desperately wanted to know what was happening, he preferred to give Daryl some space.

The whole way to the photographer’s apartment was quiet, but Daryl still felt his heart beating faster than ever. Once they finally arrived, Rick helped Daryl to get out of the car and walk to the elevator. 

Once they were safe inside Rick’s house, Daryl couldn’t hold himself back anymore, almost jumping to embrace his arms around Rick, hiding his face on the crook of the photographer’s neck.

Rick didn’t say a word; instead, he gently placed his hand under Daryl’s chin, lifting his face up so their eyes could meet. His calloused thumb softly brushed upon the brunette’s lower lips, following the bow format.

“It’s all right, Daryl. Everything’s going to be all right…”- He whispered softly. He could push his lover to talk about the issue, but he knew better than forcing the Daryl to talk.

“m’ sorry for being n’ asshole…”- Daryl started, pressing his head against Rick’s chest.

“No, Daryl, that’s not true. I was the asshole and I should know better than lying to you like that. I can’t change what I’ve done, but darlin’ I swear I’ll never lie to you again.”- Rick stared right into the escort’s soul.

Daryl swallowed hard, shaking his head. “Shane… He…He tried ta kill me. S’ all my fault. If I hadn’t lead him on since day one, If I had put an arrow right into his face…”- He kept shaking his head.

“Shane? God Daryl, no. It’s not on you. It’s not on you, I promise”- Rick assured, pressing Daryl tighter against his chest and pressing a gentle kiss upon the brunette’s forehead.

“S’ my fault… If I weren’t a pansy ass fucker as mah pa use' ta say, 'would have killed him already…”- The hunter shrugged in anger. He wouldn't cry, but he could damn well be pissed off. 

“Shh, none of that. No one is going to kill anyone, all right?”- Rick told him before pressing kisses all over his face.

Daryl couldn’t see as the photographer embraced him tightly, but even though he couldn’t see the man’s face, he knew it was filled with anger. Rick kept hugging the escort real tight as if their life depended on it, but his eyes showed nothing but pure rage; he could only see red.

**To be continued…**


	11. Eating soft ice cream, coney island king

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like." ― Lao Tzu

The sky was still dark when the only sound heard in Rick’s room was the one from uneven breaths.  With a sweat brow and hair soaking wet, Daryl relaxed with his face on the photographer’s chest while Rick gently caressed his hair. They both laid naked on Rick’s bed, legs tangled and arms relaxed by their sides.

“Better now?”- Rick asked, staring right into Daryl’s eyes.

“Mmm…”- Daryl nodded, hiding his face once more. “Thanks for helpin’ me out…”

“Only did what was right and trust me, Shane will pay one way or another.”- There was certain darkness into his voice.

“Watcha gonna do, Rick? Don’ do n’thing ya gonna regret later. Let ‘im be.”- Daryl asked, because he definitely didn’t like the sound of that.

“Won’t do anything dangerous, I promise. “- Rick pressed another soft kiss upon Daryl’s forehead. “Wanna talk or wanna take a nap?”

“Talk…”- Those were the rare moments when Daryl actually felt like talking; he would only do so when it was something important.

“I’m listenin’.”- Rick smiled, supporting his face on his knuckles; his eyes showing nothing but pure love.

Daryl sighed, a little hesitant, but he felt like he needed to talk about it with someone, anyone actually. Glenn was right when he said that everyone needed someone they trusted enough to let it all go; let the mask fall and be completely bare.

“ ‘bout my scars..”-  Daryl bit the tip of his thumb, playing with his own hands nervously. He was supposed to go on, but he stopped for a while.

“Go on, darlin’… I’ve seem ‘em.”- Rick assured him, making sure to look right into the escort’s soul.

“It-it was my pa’s fault. He wasn’t very nice, my old man. Beat the hell outta me every single day…’- Daryl bit his lips. “He use’ ta tell me that… That I didn’t deserve n’thing in my life… He treated me like trash.”

“I’m really sorry about that, Daryl. You didn’t deserve any of this.”- Rick whispered, gently caressing Daryl’s face.

For a while, Daryl gave himself the permission to linger on the touch, breathing heavily with eyes closed. “Mah old man… He… He punched me so hard once that I lost my tooth… H-he burned mah arms and mah legs with cigarettes…”- He finally broke, gasping trying hard to hold back the tears.

Rick felt his blood boiling, but at the same time he was fascinated because he never saw the brunette this vulnerable before. Daryl fought hard to not cry and even though the tears didn’t fell, he gasped and sniffed against Rick’s chest.

“Listen, Daryl.”- Rick gently caught Daryl’s face between his hands. “I love you. All of you. These scars, darlin’… They are here to remind you that you survived; you’re here with me now. You’re safe.  Can’t fix the scars for you, but I can help you to heal and I will help you, do you hear me?”

“Don’ owe me nothin’, Rick… m’ glad for having ya here though… It’s easier with ya…”- Daryl confessed with a blush.

“I’m glad.”- Rick smiled, moving himself awkwardly from side to side. He softly bit his lips, taking the condom he was wearing off, making a little knot and throwing it on the floor before pressing a loving kiss upon his lover’s lips.

 “ m’ tired…”- Daryl announced with a yawn, snuggling closer to Rick’s chest.

“All right, just another thing.  Your brother, what was his name? Do you know where he is now?”- Rick asked genuinely curious about it.

“Merle… Merle Dixon. He’s in jail, as always…”- Daryl said with an almost inconspicuous tone of sadness.

“Thank you. Now go to sleep, darlin’, you’re tired.”- Rick smiled once more, giving one last kiss on the brunette before Daryl finally felt asleep.

Rick was glad that his lover was sleeping because this way, he wouldn’t be able to see the absolutely rage on his eyes. He was definitely about something and he intended to put his plan to work as soon as he got up on the next day.

It was a rarity, but by the time the sun was rising, Rick managed to wake up before Daryl. He was really quiet and careful to get out of their bed because he didn’t want to wake his lover out; after all Daryl was exhausted.

As carefully he could, Rick got out of their bed, took one of the quickest showers of his life and dressed his usual attire; Dark blue jeans and a simple white shirt. He grabbed his phone, his keys and flew from the apartment because he wanted to make the most of his time.

It took him a few minutes before he finally got to the local’s prison; Luckily , his guess was right because he arrived just at the right time for visits and he only got one shot, so he needed to make it worth it.

Combing his hair back with his hands, he stepped forward and joined the officers inside the prison.  His eyes moved from side to side until he spotted the attendant at her booth. Trying to look his best, he approached and smiled.

“Hi, I’m  Rick Grimes. I called yesterday around midnight?”- He started, hoping that the woman would willingly help him out.

A lady with dreads smiled back; a smile so sweet that brought up even more her beautiful dark skin. “Yes that’s right, Mr. Grimes. How can we help you today?”

“I’m looking for Merle Dixon. Can you tell me if he’s in this prison?”- Rick knew he was reaching, but he had to try.

With one of eyebrows raised, the lady bit her lips, but kept typing, nodding to herself. “Yes, Merle Dixon is here. Are you related to the con?” - She made sure to ask, because way too often, people pretended to know the prisoners.

“Yes, I’m his brother in law.”- A little white lie wouldn’t hurt, would it? He hoped.

“Oh?”- The lady seemed genuinely confused because she knew Merle only had a brother.

“Well, Mr. Grimes, wait here. I’ll fill a file for you and ask them to announce you.

Rick knew that it was a dangerous territory and that Merle didn’t even know who was he, but he had to try, for the sake of Daryl’s safety. By the sound of the brunette’s voice whenever he mentioned his brother, this man seemed to be very important.

Sighing, the photographer could only pray that the man accepted his visit and he was more than thrilled when two officers came to escort him to the meeting room. Rick could feel his brow sweating and his palms wet; after all, Merle seemed to be a dangerous person.

They stopped right at the meeting’s room door, where a man seeming to be in his 50’s sat impatiently, wearing an orange suit.

Rick joined the room quiet enough, ignoring the fact that Merle had his eyebrows raised, clearly not knowing who the photographer was.  He was glad that the officers went outside, but still remained at the door.

“Merle Dixon?”- Rick asked, siting right in front of the tall man.

“Who da hell are ya?”- Merle didn’t look happy especially because he didn’t trust men that looked to be from the side of the law.

“I’m Rick Grimes. A friend of your brother, Daryl.”- He clarified.

Almost immediately, Merle’s face softened a bit, but he didn’t let his guard down even for a bit. “Whadaya want? Where’s my baby brother?”

“He’s fine, don’t worry. I’ve come to talk about something, actually someone that has been bothering your brother for a while now.” - Rick started not wanting to dance around the subject.

“Ya better start spewing man. Have no time for girly talks.”- Merle said, unsurprisingly sounding just like Daryl.

“I don’t know how much you know about your brother, but the thing is, there’s this guy he knows, who has been stalking him and threatening him for a year now.”- He clarified.

Merle scowled, not seeming to be very friendly. “Name.”- He said between his teeth, fists closed tight inside the handcuffs.

“Shane Walsh. He works here actually, but I suppose he called the police to arrest himself, so I think he’s on his way. I know it’s not right, but he kept threatening your brother’s life for a while now. Even threatened him with a gun.”- Rick continued, wanting the man to know all the details.

“Is that all, Mr. Friendly?”- Merle asked, resting his back on the chair.

“Yeah, that’s all. Just wanted to let you know about this. Your brother was pretty bad yesterday; he barely ate his dinner… I mean, I carried him home and…”- Immediately Rick tried to fix what he’d said because he knew that Daryl’s family wasn’t very open minded.

“Save it, Mr. Friendly. Don’ wanna know ‘bout ya fucking my baby brother. We done now, just go.”- Merle finished, already getting up from his sit, being escorted by the guards.

Rick just nodded, getting out and hoping everything would work out. By Merle’s expression after the story, he knew he would kick the officer’s until he couldn’t take it anymore. Actually, the photographer himself had fights with Shane in the past and though he had known Shane was a tough son of a bitch, he would always knock him out.

How much he wanted to punch the guy in the face; see his nose bleeding and his eyes becoming purple; but he would let it to Merle himself. Relieved, he left the prison as soon as possible so he could attend to a store next to his neighborhood.

\-------

Merle wasn’t happy at all over the situation, he was seeing red and he was out for blood.  Of course, he was mad with his baby brother because he taught him how to defend himself, but even Merle himself, tough as nails white trash, knew that they were not immortal; a gun was coward act and for a fraction of second he actually felt bad for his brother.

He wasn’t a bad person, he really cared about his baby brother, and right now, Daryl was everything good Merle had  in his life, and he would be damned if he  left this behind. No sir, Merle wouldn’t, let it go.

By the sound of the music, he knew that things could get worse for him in the prison, but family was family after all. He took a deep breath, spitting on the floor as he was escorted by the two guards, who weren’t very fond of him, of course, but who actually was by his side in that prison?

“Hey. Y’all gonna help ole Merle with something’?”- Merle started, trying to sound as polite as he could.

“What now, Merle?”- One of the guards, a very young man asked.

“Know ya both ‘bout as useful as a pogo stick in quicksand, but need y’all  ta help me. Where’s Shane Walsh?”- He asked, not sounding as friendly as before.

“What do you want with Walsh? We’re not allowing you to talk to fresh prisoners now, Dixon, knock it off.” - The older officer said.

“Hey now, help a little fella out, wontcha? Just wanna have a lil’ chat, ain’t gonna hurt nobody!”- Merle insisted; those officers were starting to piss him off.

The younger officer changed a few looks with the older one and sighed in defeat. “We can put you together in his cell. But if we find out you’re about something, you’ll catch one week at the hole, got it?”

“Got it.”- Merle said between teeth.

Both officers nodded to each other and leaded Merle to Shane’s cell and for him that was hilarious; nothing more fair than staying together at the cell of the man who not only threatened his brother’s life but also the one who put Merle into jail.

With a ghost of smile, Merle started to laugh, bringing Shane’s attention for himself. “Well, well, I’ll be monkeys’ uncle! Isn’t that officer though as nails in person? Mmm…”- Merle shook his head from side to side.

Merle nodded to both officers, asking them to leave and they obliged; after all, Merle had been contributing a lot with the officers, wanting or not, just so he could make his terms a little shorter, so they definitely owed him.

Without the handcuffs, there was nothing he couldn’t do. “ How ‘bout having a lil’ chat with ole Merle here?”- Merle smiled mischievously.

Minutes passed and then hours passed when the two officers actually came back to the cell and neither of them were surprised to find a merle with bloodied hands and an unconscious Shane lying on the floor, eyes as big as golf balls and nose broken; blodied.

“He ain’t dead. Jus’ unconscious, is all… Serves him right though. Mmm.”- Merle spitted on the floor, before being carried out of the sell and handcuffed again.

Merle knew that this would give him at least a month at the hole, but he didn’t care; not at all; He defended his brother’s honor and he was finally in peace with himself. He was sure that even if he got out, Shane would never try to bother Daryl again and for that he was glad.

‘Mr.Friendly owes me a big one’ - Merle thought with a smile before being put in the hole. At least he would have time enough to think about things more clearly without the other prisoners trying to bother him and sell him drugs.

His smile was sad, but genuine; He could just imagine how proud his baby brother would be after knowing that Merle had stopped doing drugs for at least one year now.  He knew Daryl had no reason to be proud of his wrongdoer brother; Merle himself wasn’t really proud for the things he’d done, but if there was only one thing he’d done right, was keeping his baby brother in line and making him avoid getting arrested.

With this thought in his mind, Merle could finally take a fair rest; the hole would help him to relax, that was for sure and he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon anyways.

\------

Rick couldn’t wait to get home and hold Daryl in his arms; it was weird actually, because during his married life, he was happy indeed, but never felt absolutely thrilled to come back home. Lori was special for him, she was one of the best wives, but with time, the he realized that their love wasn’t strong enough, but it took him time to realize that it was okay to feel like this after a while.

It’s been a while since he felt happy about coming back home to the arms of the person he loved the most and it felt great. He wasn’t sure if Daryl felt the same way about him, but he was in love again, just when he thought that love wasn’t going to happen for him anymore after the divorce.

He didn’t even imagine he would fall in love with a though redneck. He didn’t even know he liked men too, but in the world they were now, what a beautiful place to make mistakes and try things out?  He was willing to try with Daryl and he was going until the end.

With a big smile upon his face, he grabbed a huge package in his hands and turned the keys of his apartment.  Everything was too quiet, which was odd because Daryl was supposed to be awake already, but Rick was surprised to see him still lying on their bed, sleeping peacefully.

For a minute, he thought about letting him sleep, but he knew Daryl would be mad at him for not waking him up, so he gently called him, pressing a soft kiss upon his hair. The brunette softly moved himself, with eyes still closed as he rubbed his eyes and yawned.

“Hey…”- Rick smiled, guiding his lover’s hand to his lips so he could press a soft kiss there.

“Hi…”- Daryl smiled back, remaining quiet as he spread himself cat-like.

“Slept well?”- Rick asked, staring right into Daryl’s eyes.

“Yah… Shouldda wake me up earlier though. Where were ya? Woke up ta take a piss and couldn’t find ya n'where.”- Daryl asked genuinely curious.

“Just taking care of some business, but that’s not important now, I brought you a surprise.”- Rick bit his lips, handling the huge package to the brunette.

Daryl was confused; he even opened his mouth to talk, but remained silent with the package in his hands. It was the first time in his life he’d got a present from someone he loved. His wealthy clients always brought stuff for him, but they didn’t mean nothing for him; this one though, was the first gift he received from someone he loved, so he was very thrilled about this.

Swallowing hard, Daryl started to unwrap the brown paper bag, his eyes shining like the ones from a kid during Christmas’ morning. Hesitantly, he took the remaining pieces that were missing and almost let the gift fall. His hands were trembling  and his mouth was hanging open.

“Rick thas’…. Thas’…”- He had absolutely no words; he was paralyzed.

Daryl’s eyes were basically glued on his gift: wrapped in a simple paper there was a complete art’s kit, including pencils, brushed of all sizes, paints, molding kits, three different canvases and a huge art course pack.  

He couldn’t believe his eyes; no one has ever, ever gave him something like that. Even the golden watches and huge checks he got from his clients got anything on this; that was the best gift he received in his whole life.

Once more he held back his tears, but didn’t hesitate to hug the photographer really tightly, thanking him and praising him as if he was a divinity from another world.

“Like it? I got you the basics, but I’m sure you’ll tell me if you need to add any other material, won’t you?”- Rick smiled. Nothing made him happier than giving gifts for the ones he loved the most.

“Rick thas’… Thank ya, man, thank ya… God Bless ya… I don’ deserve this, I don’…”- Daryl could barely speak.

“You deserve even more, Daryl, trust me. But there’s more. Go take a nice shower because we’re getting out.”- Rick ordered and smiled to see as Daryl basically bolted from their bed, as if he was a five years old kid.

Daryl didn’t take long to take a good bath, brush his teeth and dress comfortable clothes. It was a sunny day, so he opted for his favorite black tank top.

Rick could tell that the brunette was struggling to not cry, but the surprises were just beginning.  Daryl felt confused when Rick blindfolded him before they got to the car, but he supposed it was part of the surprise.

It took then at least twenty minutes until they got to the place Rick has planned. After taking the blindfold off Daryl’s eyes, Rick smiled, getting out of his car.

Daryl’s eyes were shining over the huge letters from the establishment with the saying ‘Coney Island’s Ice cream’. The escort really never heard about a ‘Coney Island’ in their city; In fact he only remember the jingle, when he was nothing but a lad.

He wondered why Rick brought him there in the first place. ‘Ice cream?”- Daryl asked, genuinely confused.

“Come here, darlin’.”- Rick said softly, guiding Daryl to one of the tables inside the house.

The escort felt just like a kid all over again; everything inside was colorful and clean, just like he used to dream it would be, as a kid.  He was still confused, but he couldn’t wait to take a bite on one of the millions of options of ice cream they could choose.

“Mmm…”- Daryl hummed, feeling a little uncomfortable because the place looked quite expensive. He refused to ask for anything.

“How about chocolate?”- Rick asked, knowing that the last thing Daryl would do was asking for what he wanted.

Daryl didn’t reply at all, but nodded, still looking down his feet. The environment seemed nice, but he was ashamed by the way he looked like. All those happy families were there, happy, with their kids laughing and parents smiling over their goofiness; it felt unreal because it wasn’t something he had as a kid.

Rick definitely sensed something wrong, promptly taking Daryl’s hand between his, gently caressing it to assure him that everything was okay and surprisingly, that made the escort feel a little better.

“What we doing here, Rick?”- Daryl finally blurted.

“Well, we’re here just so I could give you some good news, but let’s wait for the ice cream. I promise you is all about good news.’- He smiled reassuring.

Daryl just nodded, smiling back to him, but still feeling a little nervous about everything. He just couldn’t wrap his mind on how a simple man came to his life and changed his life for good.

The waitress didn’t take long to come to their table, taking notes on her little pink notepad and coming back a few minutes later carrying a huge banana split with melted chocolate.  Daryl could even hear his stomach moving from side to side just with the sight of the delicious plate.

He hadn’t had his breakfast too, so he was definitely hungry. He didn’t even wait for Rick before putting his spoon inside the plate and taking a huge chunk of it.

“Hmm… Thas’ good.”- Daryl said, surprised because he never had a banana split in his life before and he was convinced that it was the best thing in the world.

Rick just smiled, taking a napkin so he could clean the sides of Daryl’s mouth before he himself grabbed a spoonful of ice cream.

“I got you something over here.”- Rick said between the bites, giving a small note to the brunette.

The ice cream was delicious, but Daryl was more curious with the envelope than with the food he was having.  He quickly cleaned his hands with some paper towels and opened the letter. That was enough to make him break into tears.

Even his cry was restrained, he just sniffed nervously, covering his eyes with his hands; his head moving from side to side. He couldn’t believe in his eyes. Rick gave him a contract to one of the best art schools from their city; But that wasn’t only it, Rick had paid all the tuition fees including all the books Daryl would need to buy.

The redneck was almost sure he was already dead and that the ice cream shop was actually heaven on Earth. He couldn’t accept such a gift and deep inside, his proud nature was talking loud, but he couldn’t just refuse this. It was his dream after all.

Rick was definitely waiting for a hug or a kiss or even a thank you, but all Daryl did was running away to the bathroom of the estabilishment and locking himself inside.

**To be continued…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay, we're almost done! Only one chapter left. Thank you for everyone who's sticking up with me :) Who wouldn't like to have a super wealthy boyfriend that helped them to pay for the tuition fees and everything else, am I right? Daryl is the luckiest redneck ever!


	12. Buy him tonight, he's still shining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Father's day wasn't Daryl's favorite time of the year, but who knows if things are about to change?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about my late! Hope you guys enjoy the final chapter.

Daryl had to go to the bathroom and take a deep breath, throwing water on his own face. Clearly it didn’t help because he was panicking and for a minute he felt pathetic, but he decided that he was stronger than his anxiety. It wasn’t hard to overcome this, especially because he felt more than overwhelmed at that point.

He felt embarrassed because once again he left Rick without any clue about what was happening, but it wasn’t his fault; being neglected for so many years can make people feel trapped after a single gentle gesture.

Minutes passed, and Daryl never left the bathroom, sitting on the floor with his head tucked next to his knees.  Saying to himself ‘get yer pansy ass outta this floor and get back ta yer man.’- he whispered, biting his arm hard enough to make a huge purple mark.

For a while, there was only silence, but soon enough, a few knocks could be heard and Daryl only prayed that it wasn’t one of the clients wanting to use the bathroom.

“Daryl?  Is everything all right? Let me help you, darlin’…”- Rick’s gentle voice echoed.

There was no reply, but instead, the door slowly opened and Daryl rose, with face as red as tomatoes, softly sniffing to pretend that he wasn’t throwing a fit. That wasn’t him; Daryl wasn’t the type of person who threw fits and hid himself into bathrooms over a simple gift.

“m’sorry… Wanna go home…”- Daryl said, already grabbing his package of cigarettes because he definitely needed at least two.

To the escort’s surprise though, Rick just smiled, helping him to go on, even under protests,  and thankfully, meanwhile Daryl was at the bathroom, Rick paid the bills and even tipped the waitress.

During the way back, Rick kept caressing his lover’s face, driving quietly to the sound of Van Halen.

“What’s wrong? Talk to me…”- Rick started; his voice as soft as a feather.

“ s’ too much… I just… Not use’ ta people being nice, is all. m’ sorry for being the bigges’ pansy ass…”- Daryl looked down, completely ashamed.

“Daryl, listen to me. Don’t call yourself that, all right? You’re human after all and you’re supposed to actually feel things.  I can only imagine how hard it is for you, but I’m here to tell you that you are indeed, worthy of everything I’m giving you. “- Rick reassured, guiding Daryl’s trembling hands to his mouth so he could press a gentle kiss upon it.

With a long sigh, the brunette shook his head. -“m’ no good with the feeling stuff, Rick, m’sorry….”- Daryl replied , voice full of guilt.

“Shh, none of that. I don’t care if I need to reassure you every single day for the rest of my life, but I want you to know that you are worth it, Daryl. You have me until the end.”- Rick’s voice was more than serious now; his eyes as blue as ever.

Daryl just sighed again, resting his face on the window while Rick held his hand tightly. Honestly, he didn’t even know how the photographer was still there; he was probably the most patient person in the world.

“Were ya like that with her too?”- The brunette asked.

“Her? Kind of were, I suppose’. “Rick had a sad smile upon his face. “With time I started losing it so I think that’s one of the main reasons why she didn’t want me anymore.”

“Ya still miss her, dontcha?”- Daryl asked briefly, holding Rick’s hands tight against his own.

“Sometimes. It’s hard because when you spend so much time with someone, you quite get used to them, but I think everything could’ve been different without the cheating thing.”- Rick concluded with a sigh.

“Hmm…”- Daryl nodded. “m’ thinking here… Why would she cheat on ya? Why would anyone do tha’, Rick? Ya one of them coolest guys out there.”

Rick laughed  loud, a laugh that sounded just like honey into the escort’s ears. “I was in a bad place at the time, I guess.  Actually, I was convinced that maybe she felt like my sex wasn’t as good anymore and that’s why she went out for Shane.”

“Ya kidding right? Ya one of them fuckin’ rabbits, s’ whatcha are!” - Daryl blinked seductively with a soft smile.

“I guess she was just bored. Who knows? I don’t think I can spend my time thinking about what I had with her anymore. You see, I’ll always love her, but now just like a friend. With you, though? Everything’s different.” - Always a gentleman, Rick smiled, pressing a gentle kiss upon Daryl’s calloused hands.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Two Months Later**

It was a hot morning when the Father’s day arrived. Usually it was a day Rick loved with a passion because he got to spend all day with his family; at least when he was married though. After the divorce, the kids would spend the whole weekend with him, mostly just having fun.

Judith was still a baby and even though she wasn’t his, Rick took care of her just as if she was his baby girl and she absolutely loved her ‘papa’. Carl also loved spending time with his old man, but sadly, most of the time, Rick would work all day long, but not this time.

On that day, Lori came to Rick’s apartment to bring the kids for him and give him a gift; after all, he was a nice father and they were still friends.

There was no denying the woman was sorry about her behavior on their last meeting, but she knew Rick would understand. After all, it wasn’t common for a lady find out that her ex-husband was now dating a man and even though Lori wasn’t homophobic, it was kind of a shock, especially because she was hoping he still wanted to make amends with her. 

With an apology in her mind, Lori knocked on the door of the apartment and as soon as the door was open, Carl ran to reach his father’s arms, hugging him  very tightly.

“Happy Father’s Day, Dad!!”- Carl complimented excited.

“Thank you, son, thank you.”- Rick smiled, pressing plenty of kisses all over his son’s face, laughing after some ‘yikes’ from the kid.

“Ew dad…I’m not a kid anymore.”- Carl said pretending to scratch his face, but there was nothing but a smile upon his face when he hugged his old man one more time.

“Someone here also wants to greet her papa.”- Lori smiled, giving Judith to Rick and smiling brightly as soon as the little girl started to shake her little arms to the man.

“Hey princess! Daddy missed you so much!”- He played with the kid, plastering her face with kissed, but unlike her older brother, the girl replied drooling on her papa’s face.

“Hmm Rick, I just wanna say, happy father’s day.”- Lori said, with a colorful package in her hands. “Listen, about that day, I’m really sorry if I offended you and your…. Boyfriend. It was just new for me and I kind of overreacted.”

“It’s all right, Lori. I know what is like and I don’t blame you.”- Rick smiled, giving Judy to Carl so he could hug his ex-wife properly.

“Well, I need to get going. I’ll have to take Judy because it’s father’s day and Shane….”- Lori knew that the prison wasn’t a place for babies, but she wanted Shane to see their little girl again.

“All right… Be safe, Lori.”- Rick smiled, reluctantly giving the baby away.

“I will and I hope you enjoy your day with Carl and your boyfriend. Maybe you should introduce him to me one of these days.”- Lori blinked.

“We’ll see about that.”- Rick nodded, kissing Judith and Lori one last time before  closing the door behind him.

He couldn’t wait to gather all of his stuff and take a little trip with Carl so they could practice some fishing. Rick knew that Daryl would love to join them, besides, he wanted him and Carl to get along as well, but today was Father’s day and Daryl had to pay a visit for his older brother in prison. Rick just hoped Merle would keep his mouth shut about their deal, especially because he knew the brunette wouldn’t be happy about it.

\--------

It seemed like a bad thing to end up spending that beautiful sunny morning inside the jail, but Daryl couldn’t be happier. He was finally going to see his brother after a month away from him. Father’s day was his least favorite day; he hated it with all his guts, but since the day Merle was put in jail the first time about two years ago, they both made this their little ritual.

Daryl would always come to spend the day with Merle during holidays and his older brother always made sure to behave during the week so he didn’t have his visit time revoked.

With hands sweating and a basket of goods including homemade wild berries’ jam, a cherry pie and some homemade bread, the escort joined the prison, absolutely hating how the officers stared at him with lust, most of them looking like pigs in official suits; there wasn’t nothing he hated more than being objectified without his consent.

As an escort, he knew his limits and was consenting to his clients to come and have a closer look, but like this? As a civilian? He hated it with a passion, especially because most of the officers knew what he did for a living and actually many of them have been serviced by him before so it made the whole experience even worse.

The only good thing besides his brother at that jail was Michonne, the receptionist cop, one sweet and assertive girl who’ve been always nice with him. He almost whispered ‘hallellujah’ when he got to her cabin.

“Hey Daryl. Visiting Merle?”- She asked with the sweetest of the tones.

“Yah. Happy father’s day, Michonne.”- Daryl tried to be nice, but felt awkward when the smile from the girl was gone.

“Loser got what he deserved. He was nothing but a pig.”- The lady said between her teeth.

“Yah, can tell the same ‘bout mah old man.”- Daryl smiled, especially when the girl started smiling again.

“You’re free to go, Daryl. Have fun.”- She smiled, giving him a card.

The worst part was still to come though. All the officers knew exactly what Daryl was in real life, so they would always make sure Daryl wasn’t hiding anything in his body; He absolutely loathed the intimate exams, but he had to pass through all of them all if he actually wanted to see his brother. 

After torturous twenty minutes, Daryl was finally free from the officer’s hands, being guided to the visit the room where Merle was. The escort took a deep breath, fixing his shirt and hair before getting in.

That Merle sat on the chair seemed paler and thinner than Daryl recalled, but what was important was the fact that he was still alive. His feature wasn't much like the one from the good old badass redneck, but he still looked as tough as nails. 

“Oh look at tha’? Isn’t my baby brother just in time?”- Merle greeted; he was glad because he didn’t see his brother for a long time now. The hole made him feel loner than ever.

“Hey Merle.”- Daryl smiled softly, placing the basket on the table and sitting right in front of his brother.

“Come on now, how ‘bout giving some sugar ta ya ole Merle here?”- The elder brother smiled with open arms.

For a minute, Daryl felt that there was something wrong because they didn’t hug or kiss each other since they were little kids, but his brother seemed to be having one of his worst days, so he gave in, just rising up from his chair and following to where Merle was sat, approaching a little more to give his brother a small peck upon the lips before hugging him really tightly.

“Missed ya, Merle.”- The brunette said before retreating to his initial spot.  

“Missed ya too, baby brother and I must say ya getting prettier and prettier. Hell, mama was right when she said ya the pretty one from the family, don’t even look like my kin.”- That was Merle’s way to say that he was proud for having someone like Daryl as his brother.

“And ya thinner than I reckon, Merle.”- Daryl’s voice was full of concern.

“Eh, rough days, ya know. Fuckers got me in the hole for two months and I can tell ya, the hole ain’t pretty baby brother.” - Merle shook his head because the officers were extra hard; making him starve for two months straight, only feeding him some bread crumbs.

“What have ya done this time, Merle?”- Daryl didn’t want to point fingers, but he knew that going to the hole only meant one thing: Merle has done something really bad.

“Nun’ of yer business, kid. Ya watch yer mouth when ya speaking ta me.”- Merle warned, his eyes squinting dangerously.

“m’ sorry…. Jus’ worried with ya, is all.”- Daryl swallowed, grabbing the basket so he could take the towel out before placing it over the table.

Merle wasn’t the type of man who smiled besides when he knew he was up to something bad, but today wasn’t one of those days. When he saw the berry pie and the fresh handmade bread along with some orange juice , he could even hear his stomach growling. Having such a feast after such a long time without being fed and being beat the shit out by the officers, made this little treat look just like heaven.

For someone who basically didn’t eat for months, those snacks were like a king’s banquet.  Merle smiled, humming in excitement as the corn bread’s scent reached his nostrils.

“Corn bread? Cherry Pie? Ummm, just like mama use’ ta do!”- Merle laughed because he loved everything his baby brother cooked, especially because it was just like their mama’s food; tasted like home.

“Knew ya would like ‘em…”- Daryl smiled all smug, grabbing a slice of bread for himself.

For a minute, Merle’s smile was gone and he shook his head with a slice of bread in his hands. He knew he wasn’t a good example, not even a ‘good brother’, but the things he would do to keep his baby brother alive...  He wouldn’t mind killing everyone around them if it was what it took to make Daryl safe.

“Listen’, kid.”- Merle started. “I know I ain’t the best brother in town, but I’ll be damned if someone hurt ya. I will kill ‘em all if I had ta, got it?”

Daryl didn’t reply at all because he knew that Merle wouldn’t want to listen, especially when his older had plans on his mind. At least he was glad because he knew his brother loved him unconditionally, even though Merle would always try to convince himself otherwise.

“I know.”- Daryl bit his lips, taking a bite on his bread. “Now ‘bout that… I need ta tell ya somethin’.”

“Well? Spill.”- Merle asked, still focused on the huge slice of pie he grabbed with his bare hands.

“Think I ‘ave a boyfriend now.”- He swallowed hard. “I know ya ain’t fond of dem queers, but just wanted ta tell ya that m’ ok now, m’ happy.” - Daryl finished, staring at his own feet. 

“Hmm… Don’t matter, baby brother. Ya do yer thing.”- Merle nodded. “Pa must be turning in his grave now but fuck ‘im. Dead can’t talk anyway.” - That was his way of saying that he supported his baby brother no matter what.

“Yah…”- Daryl blushed and for the first time in his life, even after all he’d been through, he was glad that his father was gone. With the blessings of his brother, there was nothing else he needed in the world; he finally felt complete.

“Listen here kid. Ya keep yerself safe, hear me? From now on ya better take care of yerself. Won’t be here ta help ya anytime soon.”-  Merle’s voice was as serious as ever.

“Why ya sayin’ this? Ya ain’t dying on me, are ya?”- For a minute, Daryl’s heart skipped a beat.

Merle just laughed out loud, shaking his head. ‘Nah. Jus’ won’t be gettin’ outta this shithole anytime soon. Have done a bad thing, baby brother, but I would be damned if I did nuthin’.

“Hmm…”- Daryl nodded because he knew better than pushing his brother to speak. “By the way… Ya know if Shane’s here?

Suddenly, Merle’s eyes were as dark as the night sky, teeth raging against each other. “Ya stay away from that son of a bitch, ya hear me boy?

Daryl just had his mouth hanging open, his eyes showing nothing but surprise. For a minute, Merle sounded just like their father and that was both scary and heart breaking at the same time.

“Gotta git now…”- Daryl announced, already gathering his towel and the cups.

“Hey, hey, nun’ of that! m’ sorry baby brother. I didn’t mean ta… Ah ta hell! I beat the heck outta that fucker ‘cause I know he’s been bad with ya.”- Merle blurted, of course, always being careful to not let Rick’s name slip.

“Ya don’t know ‘bout that. ”- Daryl said in disbelieve.

“Mock me as ya want, kid, but I know. Ole Merle always knows. Ya playin’ a fool, kid!”- Merle concluded, spitting in the ground. 

Daryl just shook his head; he wouldn’t ever admit something like that for his older brother, so Instead, he just gathered his towel and walked forward, pressing a kiss upon his brother’s forehead with a soft smile on his lips.

“Ya take care, Merle.”- That was his way of saying ‘I love you’ to his brother before leaving the room.

He knew Merle was right; he shouldn’t be searching for that asshole, but he just couldn’t help it. Daryl needed to see that smug out of Shane’s face by himself. Once more, he counted on the gorgeous receptionist to give him information about Shane and she gladly gave him exactly what he wanted, not aware that both knew each other already.

Daryl’s heart was beating faster than ever. He followed the path through the corridor of the prison until he arrived at one of the officers’ cabin, giving them the pass for a meeting with Shane.  The officer, who didn’t look friendly at all just nodded, ordering Daryl to wait inside of an empty room.

For minutes he just waited, biting the tip of his fingers and playing with his own knuckles until he heard the sound of keys, turning his head as he recognized a very known laugh at his back. He couldn’t pretend he wasn’t satisfied about seeing Shane’s face all bloated and with a huge dark eye.

“Well, well…”- Shane bit his lips, roughly rubbing his now bald head. “Ain’t I the luckiest guy in this prison?”

“Jus’ wanted ta see.”- Daryl smiled with eyes squinted; he was curious.

“See what? This?”- Shane smiled with lust, grabbing his own cock through the fabric of his orange uniform.

“Nah, not really. Jus’ yer face all wrecked. Serves ya right though.”- Daryl smiled once more before spitting on the floor and leaving the man hanging.

He didn’t want anything from Shane anymore, he just wanted to see the result of what his brother had done and he couldn’t be more satisfied. In a very twisted way, Merle was now almost like a guardian angel for his baby brother.

Daryl was glad because his brother defended his honor, but not only that, he defended his baby brother’s freedom. Before stepping out from the prison, the escort rubbed his bruised arms. Those were  very small details neither Rick nor Merle would ever know.

He wouldn’t talk about what Shane has done to him, he would never talk about the bitings, the spankings and the beatings; not because he felt humiliated though, but because he felt like he just closed another chapter of his book; one he would never want to revisit again and for the first time in his life, he knew he wouldn’t have to.

With a lighter heart and soft arms, Daryl walked towards his bike, resting his back at the seat so he could have a smoke before driving back home. He had plans to meet Rick soon, but there was something he needed to do first.

Gladly, he’s done two berry pies, so there was one fresh spare piece that he knew someone would love to have a bite. He stopped near the biggest bakery from their town, taking his helmet off and getting inside.

Everything was way too cozy for Daryl's taste, almost ‘too girly’ as Daryl used to say back in the days. He was glad he grew up to realize that there was nothing better than cozy bakeries and that the comfy environment was the most important thing to make the clients feel  relaxed enough.

As soon as he glanced to the short asian man cleaning the tables of the restaurant he smiled, waving a hello from far away.

“Hey dude! What’s up?”- Glenn smiled, approaching Daryl to give him a warm hug.

“m’ good, what about you chinaman?’- Daryl played, messing with the man’s hair.

Glenn rolled his eyes, but still smiled, helping Daryl with the basket.” So what brings you to my humble establishment?”

“Thought I should bring ya some pie. Baked ‘em this mornin'. Fresh berries with sum’ honey.”- Daryl smiled, opening the basket and showing the beautiful piece.

“Ugh, you know I die for your pie, bro. Come, have a sit.”- Glenn said, offering a chair for Daryl and grabbing a fork.

Glenn loved everything Daryl baked and always told him that he could be big, but the escort never listened because the paycheck wasn’t nearly as big as the one he received for being a sex worker.

Of course, working at a bakery had its perks and Daryl wouldn’t need to deal with old man trying to grope him everywhere, but he never felt worthy of working there. For him, Glenn’s bakery was a sacred place that shouldn’t be stained with his presence, because not only he was an escort, but he was also redneck who’d lived his entire life in the wild, not very used to civilization at all.

“So…”- It was rare when Daryl actually started conversations. “Gonna study sum’ art this season…My - Rick, Rick Grimes, the photographer, paid for mah course.’

Glenn had his mouth hanging open in a smile, he was so happy that he almost jumped on Daryl’s arms, hugging him even tighter.

“Oh my god, that’s so awesome! Wait until Maggie know about this, she’ll totally freak out, man! Good for you!”- Glenn cheered, sitting back and proving another piece of the pie.

“Thank ya…”- Daryl blushed; he definitely wasn’t used to people who actually cheered for him. He had to admit, Glenn loud personality annoyed him sometimes, but he loved the man anyways.

“Hmm… Oh man… Best pie I ever had! You didn’t lose your touch! I swear dude, you could do wonders here…”- The baker said, enjoying yet another delicious piece of pie.

“Maybe I can now… Don’ feel like going ta the streets as often now…Would be nice giving mah body a break for a change.”- Daryl shrugged.

“You know what? That’s going to be awesome! Maggie wouldn’t stop talking about how many new clients we would get because you’re not only talented but you’re ‘oh so handsome’ and shit. “- Glenn mimicked his wife’s voice.

“Guess we have a deal then. Thank ya man, I really appreciate yer help.”- Daryl nodded because for the first time in his life he would have a real job that didn’t involve using his own body.

Daryl didn’t hate what he did for a living, he actually grew fond of his job, even though there were very few perks, but now that he was thirty-five years old, he felt like he didn’t need to come back to this anymore.

Of course, there were clients that were hard to let go, especially Billy, but he had to let go. If anything, his sex work life only added more stories for his creations; he just couldn’t wait to start painting and maybe doing some collaboration with Rick sometime.

He said goodbye to Glenn, promising to be there pretty early on the next day before leaving, after all, those were very good news to give to his man, yeah, he liked the sound of that, he liked the idea of having someone to call of his own even more.

Of course, he would need to be modest, because he knew it was Father’s day which probably meant that the kids were there too, so no pda for him, especially because he wasn’t very fond of public demonstrations like this. 

Carefully, he got out of his bike and  entered the building, knocking on the door lightly before grabbing his own keys and opening the door. To his surprise, even Lori was there, joining Rick and the kids at table. It seemed like they were about to have dinner.

For a minute, Daryl felt like an outsider, but Rick’s hands telling him to come closer were more than convincing. He preferred to stay at a safe distance though, but he didn’t want to upset his boyfriend, so he approached, nodding a hello for Lori and smiling for the kids.

“Hey.”- Daryl said, discreetly patting Rick’s arms. That was about as far he would go in front of Rick’s kids and his ex-wife.

“Hi, Daryl. How was the meeting? Is everything all right with Merle?”- Rick asked, gently pushing a chair towards Daryl, making sure his lover sat right next to him.

“Good.”- Daryl replied, unable to look up and face all of those people.

“I told Carl that you’d teach him to fish one of these days. You’re probably a better fisherman than I am, right?”- Rick blinked, caressing Daryl’s thighs under the table.

“Yeah, I love you dad, but you suck at fishing.”- Carl played, laughing after a ‘hey’ from his father.

“Can teach ya lots of tricks if ya want kid.”- Daryl blinked and blushed when Carl smiled back. Yeah, he already liked the kid.

“Cool!”- Carl smiled, taking a bite on his mini carrots, making a face right after, but he knew he couldn’t refuse healthy food in front of his mom.

They had an amazing dinner together and Lori finally got to know Daryl a little better and in the end, she saw he wasn’t as bad as she thought he was. All of them watched a movie afterwards and then Lori along with the kids was gone by the end of the night.

Daryl was exhausted, but he had a nice day overall and the night was young and he was sure Rick would be willing to have an extra special little party to close the father’s day with the perfect end.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

**~ One Year Later ~**

Rick was nervous, walking from side to side, wearing a very elegant Armani suit, right in the middle of one of the biggest galleries from their town. It was opening night of his newest exhibition and he couldn't be more excited. That was the result of over a year of hard work and he could not wait for the reaction of his guests and fans.

At the entrance hall, there was a huge banner with a gorgeous picture that really captured everyone’s attention: Daryl was wearing a huge flower crown while he had a cigarette in his mouth and wore a denim romper with no shirt underneath. The most curious thing though was his crossbow hanging on his hand, which made him look like the badass hunter he was.

Written in red letters, the name 'American Beauty' named the exhibition along with ‘photography by Rick Grimes’ featuring model ‘Daniel Grimes.’ It was discussed beforehand between both of them and Daryl wanted to remain as anonymous as possible, so nothing better than his good old stage name.

The ehxibition was very provocative and every single photography was unique, sometimes haunting, sometimes erotic, but all of them were featuring Daryl with different flower crowns, but one thing in common was the fact that he was naked in all of them.

Rick's fans and critics knew how his art always leaned to the sensua and erotic side and everyone was baffled and curious about who was that gorgeous model. He explained how the idea for the exhibition came after a series of polaroids he took from his husband.

It was quite funny to call Daryl of his husband thought, because they were not married in fact, but the photographer liked to present Daryl this way and people seemed to respect that.

Harris Nielsen, a very known Swedish art collector was there as well and seemed very interested in buying one of the pieces. He was very passionate about Rick’s art and has collected few of Rick's most valuable photographies. 

“I must say, you’ve surprised me once more, Mr. Grimes. I love the vulnerability and yet, elegance and toughness of these pictures. It would be an honor to buy one of these gorgeous pieces.” - The old collector praised.

“Well, of course, Mr. Nilsen. It’s an honor. Which one, if I may ask?”- Rick was very curious because Harris was one of the most reputable collector in the world.

“This one right here. Absolutely breathtaking. What’s the name of this?’ - Harris pointed to one of the pictures were Daryl was wearing a light pink dahlia crown and had his mouth hanging open as his eyes were squinting seductively.

Rick smiled because it was one of his favorites too. “This one right here is called ‘La Petite Mort” - He knew the collector didn’t need to be a genius to know that it meant orgasm in french. 

“Splendid. I’m very intrigued by this model, Mr. grimes. One of the most gorgeous lads I’ve ever seen. I’ll buy this one, just give me your price and I'll gladly take it. ” - The fact that Nielsen was a very wealthy man wasn’t actually a surprise.

“For this one…”- Rick smiled, gently caressing his own stubble. “$9,000.”

“Agreed. It’s a very reasonable price, Mr. Grimes. My chauffeur will bring you a check later.” - Harris smiled, giving a pat on Rick’s shoulder before taking a sip on his glass of champagne.

Daryl would hate to be there; he hated parties like this and really wouldn’t enjoy people staring at his naked body, so he didn’t attend to the exhibition at all. First, Rick wasn’t very happy about that, but he definitely understood where his lover was coming from and he would never deny him his well-being;

By the end of the night, Rick was absolutely exhausted; his shoulders were hurting just as much as his back. He couldn’t wait to come back home and take a very nice bubble bath; he felt like he totally deserved to spoil himself a little after working so hard.

When he arrived at his apartment, everything was too quiet besides the low sound of some classic country music playing in the background. Seeing Daryl sat at his little creative space while painting was like a balm to Rick's eyes. 

Daryl wore his classic white tank top along with some comfortable grey sweatpants and a bunny slipper covering his feet.  As usual, he had a cigarette in his mouth and a paintbrush hanging on the tip of his ears.

He was so concentrated in his new piece that he barely heard Rick approaching him to attack his neck with his mouth. Daryl swore a low ‘son of a bitch’ before smiling and nuzzling againt his boyfriend's cheeks. 

“Hey...”- Rick greeted him, pressing small kisses all over his lover’s neck.

“Hey… How was the thing? Ya seem ‘xhausted.”- Daryl smiled, turning to press a soft kiss upon Rick’s lips.

“It was wonderful. I’m really tired now though, but it was all worth it. Everyone loved my work, but especially you. Guess I sold about twenty pictures.” - Rick smiled, talking off his suit.

“Mah hero… Guess peeps are jus’ as pervy as ya are…”- Daryl smiled, stretching his arms before getting out of his chair.

He was working on a new painting on that night; it was dark and haunting, but on a very twisted way. Daryl painted a man that didn’t looked quite like he was alive, looked more like half dead and had red eyes, just like a zombie.

According to him, he would paint all of his demons out and Rick was absolutely in love with his work, especially because as artists, both their ideas were very divergent, but both loved each other’s style. Daryl was getting better and better after his latest art classes and though sometimes he was kicked out of class for talking back, he was enjoying his course.

“Come take a bath with me? I’m so exhausted that I think I might fall and hit my head if I try to go by myself.”- Rick played, gently biting Daryl’s ear lobe.

“Fine… Ya won dis’ time, Grimes, but don’ think I’ll be as easy next time ya try me.’ - Daryl blinked before turning and pressing soft pecks upon Rick's lips, he would never get enough of them. 

Daryl couldn’t be happier because now he was having the opportunity to study, he had a nice part time job at the bakery and had a gorgeous man by his side. Daryl absolutely hated sappy shit and he, of all people, wasn’t the type of man who believed in fairy tales, but he was just glad for having so much luck.

Rick was a good man, he was very comprehensive and even paid for his dental care; Daryl finally felt good about himself, especially after he made a surgery to fix his teeth; now he had a golden one replacing the before empty space and that made him feel like the most badass redneck in the history.

Things were slowly getting better for him, though, of course, Daryl struggled to go for therapy first and he still didn’t attend to one single consultancy, but he was trying, very slowly, one step at time. Rick understood because he was a very patient man, at least when it was about his boyfriend, but promised him that he would always be there for him.

Life was finally starting to settle for him and now, after so many years, Daryl knew that his past didn’t define the person he was now and just like his mom used to say, he had to be strong,  because things could be stormy sometimes, but it couldn’t rain forever and now, finally, the sun was set for him.

**The End.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the end! Thank you for everyone who commented, liked, followerd and read this story! I was so glad for your feedback because first, I wasn't very sure if people would like this team, but it turns out that you guys ennjoyed reading this just as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thanks for all the support!
> 
> Follow me on tumblr if you want, my name is vickykun.tumblr.com! See you soon <3

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is my first rickyl! I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Stay tuned for the next chapters, there's some drama ahead though as well as the background of Daryl's story and the reason why he make such a small money. 
> 
> Also, I've created a playlist for the fic: http://8tracks.com/vickyslyth/dark-doo-woop-a-rickyl-fanmix  
> And a fanvid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJxDXwAjNCc
> 
> you can find me on my personal tumblr :
> 
> vickykun.tumblr.com


End file.
